














• ►«'"•' 






















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HISTORY 



ENGLAND 



A. P. STONE, LL.D., 

SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS, SPRINGFIELD, MASS. 



CASED ON AND RETAINING PORTIONS OF 

WORCESTER'S ELEMENTS OF HISTORY, 

BY J- E. WORCESTER, LL.D. 



BOSTON : 
►WN, 

tSSXT 



THOMPSON, BROWN, AND COMPANY. 






ft } aR^RVofCOMGRESSj 

Two CooJes R«eJvod 

AUG U^^T 

Cwvrijrht Enfey 
CLASb'^A "kXCm No. 

COPY q/ 



Copyright, 1879, 
By THOMPSON, BROWN, & CO. 



Franklin Press: 

Electrotyped and Printed by 

Rand, Avery, &= Co., 

Boston. 



PREFACE. 



This work is designed as a text-book in English history for 
those who desire a course of moderate extent. Though com- 
paratively brief, it omits no essential facts in the historical 
narrative, and it gives sufficient prominence to those features 
whose importance entitles them to such a consideration. The 
basis of the work is the chapter on England in the well-known 
" Elements of History " by Dr. Joseph E. Worcester, for many 
years a very popular text-book in extensive use in American 
schools. It has been thoroughly revised and rewritten, and 
enlarged by important additions and by a fuller treatment of 
such portions as seemed to demand it. Such corrections and 
modifications have also been made as had become necessary 
in view of the light of historical research and criticism since 
the original work was written. 

The aim of the Editor has been to prepare a convenient 
manual, that shall serve as a guide to both teacher and pupil in 
an intelligent study of English history, and to present the sub- 
ject in such a way as to remove from the pupil all inducements 
to make the study one of memorizing and routine, to assist the 
teacher in encouraging independent study and investigation, 
and to enable him to apply frequent tests of the pupils' work 
and knowledge. 

Such suggestions and helps only have been furnished as will 
indicate the proper object and method of historical study, and 
make its pursuit one of pleasure and profit, and at the same 



IV PREFACE. 

time will leave the teacher at liberty to follow whatever special 
plan may be suggested by his own individual preferences or 
habit^ of work. 

Some features of the book will, it is believed, be of important 
assistance in its use. Instead of printed questions, against the 
use of which there are very grave objections, side-notes have 
been added, which give a key to the contents of the paragraph 
in which they are set, but which, nevertheless, require the 
learner to read carefully the whole text. Several new maps 
have been prepared to indicate important localities and events, 
and these maps are rendered specially clear and attractive hf 
the absence of all unnecessary detail. A chronological table 
of sovereigns, convenient for reference, precedes the text ; and 
at the close of the work will be found tables of leading histor- 
ical events and of distinguished persons, a list of the British 
Possessions, the genealogy of English sovereigns, a list of the 
members of the royal family, and a brief account of the English 
Government. Outline synopses for review, with tables of con- 
temporaneous history, have been inserted at convenient inter- 
vals, both for practical use and as suggestive models for teacher 
and pupil. 
'Springfield, July 20, 1879. 



SUGGESTIONS TO TEACHERS. 



1. Encourage the pupil to read through carefully the entire les- 
son for the day, in connection with what immediately precedes, so 
as to obtain a general and a connected idea of the subject, which 
will enable the mind to grasp and retain the main facts of the 
lesson, without memorizing the words of the text. 

2. Taking the side-notes as guides, use such questions of your 
own as will compel the learner to give the connected story of the 
lesson. Questions that will admit of very brief answers should be 
avoided. 

3. Require the recitation to be given in the pupil's own language 
as far as possible, making allowance for age and other circum- 
stances. 

4. Make frequent use of the maps, and require sketch-maps and 
plans to be drawn upon the blackboard. A very few important 
dates only should be committed and often reviewed. 

5. Show pupils how to extend their reading and researches into 
other books than their text-books, and to obtain information of 
the same events as told in the larger works of Macaulay, Hume, 
Lingard, Knight, Green's English People, &c. ; and occasionally 
assign different topics to different pupils for fuller investigation. 

6. Have frequent reviews and re-reviews, varying them so as to 
make them topical, chronological, and geographical. 

7. Lessons should not be too lengthy. Their extent should de- 
pend upon the age of the pupils, the importance of the topic, and 
the minuteness and thoroughness with which it is to be treated. 

8. Cultivate in the class a fondness for reading in history and 
biography. 



CONTENTS. 



PAGE. 

Suggestions to Teachers . . . . . . . vii 

Chronological Table of Sovereigns .... viii 



PART I. — ENGLAND BEFORE THE NORMAN CONQUEST. 

CHAPTER. 

I. Early Britain 

II. Britain under Roman Occupation . 

III. Saxon Conquests. — The Heptarchy 

IV. Saxon Kings. — Danish Incursions . 
V. Danish Kings. — Saxon Kings restored 

Synopsis for Review .... 



4 

8 

II 

i8 

22 



PART IL — THE FEUDAL PERIOD. 

I. The Norman Family . .23 

II. The Plantagenet Family 27 

III. The Branch of Lancaster . . . . . . -43 

IV. The Branch of York ........ 47 

Synopsis for Review 52 

Chronological Table of Sovereigns and Important 

Events 54 

PART IIL — MODERN ENGLAND. 

I. The Tudor Family 57 

II. The Stuart Family (Part I.) 72 

III. The Commonwealth 83 

IV. The Stuart Family (Part II.) .89 

Synopsis for Review 98 

Chronological Table of Sovereigns and Important 

Events 100 

V. The House of Brunswick (Part I.) 102 



CONTENTS. Vll 

CHAPTER. PAGE. 

YI. The House of Brunswick (Part II.) 113 

The British Government 128 

The British Possessions 130 

Synopsis for Review 132 

Chronological Table of Sovereigns and Important 

Events. 134 

Genealogy of English Sovereigns 136 

The Present Royal P'amily of Great Britain . . 141 

Tables 142 



LIST OF MAPS. 

Early Britain facing page i 

English History subsequent to the Conquest . . 23 

British Islands and Continental Europe adjacent . 43 

British India 117 

Eastern China 119 

The Crimea, Greece, &c 121 



SOVEREIGNS OF GREAT BRITAIN. 



Saxon Line 



Egbert 

Ethelwolf . 

Ethelbald . 

Ethelbert . 

Ethelred I. 

Alfred . 

Edward the Elder 

Athelstan . 

Edmund I.. 

Edred . 

Edwy , 

Edgar . 

Edward the Martyr 

Ethelred II. 

Edmund II. 



Danish Line 

Canute I. . 
Harold I. . 
Canute II. . 
Edward (Saxon) 
Harold II. (Saxon) 



Yrs. 

827- 838-11 
838- 857-20 
857- 860- 3 
860- 866- 6 
866- 871- 5 
871- 901-30 
901- 925-24 
925- 941-16 
941- 948- 7 
948- 955- 7 
955- 959- 4 
959- 975-16 
975- 978- 3 
978-1016-38 
1016-1017- I 



1017-1036-19 
1036-1039- 3 
1039- 104 I- 2 
1041-1065-24 
1065-1066- I 



Norman Family. 

William 1 1066-1087-21 

William II. ... 1087-1100-13 

Henry 1 1100-1135-35 

Stephen .... 1135-1154-19 

Plantagenet Family. 

Henry II 1154-1189-35 

Richard 1 1189-1199-10 

John 1199-1216-17 

Henry III 1216-1272-56 

Edward 1 1272-1307-35 

Edward II. ... 1307-1327-20 

viii 



Plantagenet Family. Yrs. 
Edward III. . . . 1327-1377-50 
Richard II. ... 1377-1399-22 



Branch of Lancaster. 



Henry IV. 
Henry V. 
Henry VI. 



1399-1413-14 
1413-1422- 9 
1422-1461-39 



Branch of York. 
Edward IV. ... . 1461-1483-22 



Edward V. 
Richard III. 



Tudor Family. 



Henry VII. 
Henry VIII. 
Edward VI. 
Mary . 
Elizabeth . 



1483 74 days. 
1483-1485- 2 



:485-i509-24 
[509-1547-38 
1547-1553- 6 
[553-1558- 5 
[558-1603-45 



Stuart Family. 
James I. . . . 
Charles I. . 
The Commonwealth 
Charles II. 
James II. . 
William and Mary . 
Anne .... 



1603-1625-22 
1625-1649-24 
1649-1660-11 
1660-1685-25 
1685-1688- 3 
1688-1702-14 

I702-I71.)-12 



House of Brunswick. 

George 1 1714-1727-13 

George II 1727-1760-33 

George III. . . . 1760-1820-60 

George IV. . . . 1820-1830-10 

William IV. •. . . 1830-1837- 7 

Victoria .... 1837 



HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 



PART I. 



ENGLAND BEFORE THE NORMAN CON- 
QUEST. 

A.D. 1066. 



CHAPTER I. 
EARLY BRITAIN. 

GREAT BRITAIN is the geographical name of the island 
which comprises England, Scotland, and Wales. In a 
political sense it includes also Ireland and several Great Brit- 
other islands and countries in various parts of the ^^"• 
world, and is called the United Kingdom of Great Britain ; 
also the British Empire. 

2. The Island of Britain was known to the ancients several 
centuries before the Christian era, and was visited by the 
Phoenician and Carthaginian traders, who obtained Known to 
from the natives various commodities, such as the ancients, 
skins, lead, and tin. Tin was used with copper in forming 
bronze, — an article in extensive use among the ancient Ori- 
ental nations. 



2 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

» 

3. The early name of the country was Albion, signifying 

White Isle ; suggested, probably, by the chalk-cliffs 
on its southern coast. The Greeks and Romans 
called it Britain (Britannia), or land of tin. Some writers, 
however, derive this name from biith, or biit, painted ; because 
the inhabitants were accustomed to paint or stain their bodies 
with a blue dye. 

4. The first known inhabitants of Britain were of the Celtic 
race, who at an early period came over from the neighboring 
Early inhab- Continent, — probably from Gaul, now France. The 
itants. present inhabitants of Wales are supposed to be 
regular descendants from a branch of Celts called Cimri. 
Though now called Welsh by their English neighbors and 
others, they still call themselves Kimry, or Cimri. 

5. The Celts were a lively, quick-witted people, though rude 
and barbarous, possessing little property except their arms and 
Character cattlc, and frequently moving from place to place 
and mode of in pursuit of game, pasturage, and plunder. They 

gave little attention to the cultivation of the soil, 
but lived mostly upon wild fruits and the flesh of their herds 
and flocks. Their dwellings — constructed of timber, wicker- 
work, and thatch — were circular in form, with a conical roof; 
and were built in groups, and surrounded by felled trees. 

6. The people were divided into many petty tribes, each 
with its king ; and these tribes were often at war with one 
Government another and with their neighbors, in which they 
and wars. displayed much bravery and skill. They used 
wicker shields, swords and spears of iron and bronze, and 
war-chariots armed with scythes and hooks, and drawn by well- 
trained horses. 

7. The religion of the early Britons, called Druidism, was a 
cruel superstition, which entered into all the affairs of life, and 
Religion and cxertcd a powcrful influence in the formation of 
priests. i^i-jgjj. character and institutions. The priests, called 
Druids, had the entire control of all religious rites and affairs, 



EARLY BRITAIN. 3 

the administration of justice, the education of youth, and the 
settlement of difficulties between tribes and nations. They 
exercised almost absolute power over the people, and punished 
severely any refusal to submit to their decisions, or to carry out 
their commands. 

8. The Druids worshipped several deities, and some of the 
heavenly bodies ; taught the doctrine of the transmigration of 
souls ; and on great occasions offered human sacrifices, con- 
fining their victims in wicker cages, and setting Doctrines 
them on fire. The doctrines and mysteries of the and worship. 
Druids were not committed to writing ; and their dwellings 
were in secluded forests of oak, which, with the mistletoe grow- 
ing upon the trees, were held very sacred. At Stonehenge, on 
Salisbury Plain, in Wiltshire, Southern England, are still to be 
seen the supposed remains of a Druidic temple, consisting of 
an altar, surrounded by two circular rows of upright stones, sev- 
eral feet in height. 



m^i 









STONEHENGK RESTORED. 



CHAPTER II. 

BRITAIN UNDER ROMAN OCCUPATION. 
B.C. 55 to A.D. 420, — 475 years. 

THE inhabitants of the southern part of Britain made 
greater progress in the arts of civihzation than their 
The south northern neighbors ; and became so famous in war, 
Britons. ^\-^^^ |-|-^gy ^q^q invited across the channel by the 

Gauls to assist them in their wars with the Roman general, 
Julius Caesar. Caesar made this a pretext for invading Britain ; 
but his real motive, probably, was 10 carry his arms into a new 
country,, and to add it to the dominion of the Roman Empire. 

2. In the summer season, B.C. 55, Caesar, with eighty ships 
and ten thousand men, approached the coast of Britain, near 
Caesar's first the present site of Dover, where his landing was 
invasion. fiercely resisted by the natives at the water's edge. 
After a severe conflict the Romans landed, drove back the 
Britons, and erected fortifications for their own protection and 
defence. A treaty of peace was made, but was soon after 
broken by the natives when they saw that a violent storm had 
destroyed several of the ships in which Caesar and his army 
arrived, also others which had followed him from Gaul with 
men and supplies. After one or two more sharp engagements 
the Britons were again defeated, and both parties gladly made 
another treaty of peace and friendship. Caesar immediately 
refitted a few of his shattered ships, placed his army on board, 
and returned to Gaul, having been in Britain only about three 
weeks, and at no time scarcely out of sight of the shore, 

4 



43-] BRITAIN UNDER ROMAN OCCUPATION 5 

3. In the following year Caesar returned with a large force 
to continue his conquests, and to chastise the faithless Britons 
who had failed to keep their stipulations. The caesar's 
natives opposed him in large numbers under Cas- second inva- 
wollon", called by the Romans Cassivelau'nus, — a ^*°"" 
powerful chief, who had conquered several neighboring tribes, 
and who was now at the head of a kind of confederacy of states. 
But the Britons could not long withstand the Roman mode of 
warfare. Caesar pursued them across the Thames, took their 
capital, St. Alban's, made a treaty of peace with Caswollon, and 
with many prisoners returned again to Gaul. The results of 
Caesar's two expeditions to Britain were simply the occupation 
of a small part of the island for a short time. He cannot be 
called its conqueror. 

4. For nearly a century Britain was unmolested by the Ro- 
mans, and during this period some of the native kings were 
conspicuous in history. One of them, Cunobeline, x, . . 

_ rJritain 

or Cymbehne, furnished the name and subject of under native 
one of Shakspeare's plays. Some of Cymbeline's '''"^^• 
coins, bearing his own image and inscription, are still in existence. 

5. About A.D. 43 the Emperor Claudius sent an army to 
Britain under Plautius (Plau'-she-us), who made extensive con- 
quests ; and Claudius himself visited the island, and 

received the submission of some of the vanquished ^'^"^'"^* 
natives : but the war of subjugation, with great cruelties on 
both sides, continued for many years. Car'adoc, 
or Carac'tacus, a powerful Welsh chief, successfully 
defied the Roman power for a long time, but was finally de- 
feated, and sent as prisoner to Rome. 

6. In the reign of Nero, Sueto'nius overran the .country, and 
captured Mona (now Anglesey), — an island on the coast of 
Wales, and the principal seat of the Druids. The Suetonius; 
Britons made a desperate defence ; the women, with Mona. 
dishevelled hair and burning torches, rushing down to the 
water's edge, and mingling in the affray. But the Romans were 



6 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. [78. 

\ictonous, and the destruction of the place was complete. 
The sacred groves were cut down, and the Druids were burned 
in the fires they had lighted to consume the invaders. 

7. During this expedition of Suetonius, Bo-ad-i-ce^a, sister 
of Caradoc, and queen of the Ice'ni, one of the tribes in the 

eastern part of the island, took the field, at the head 
of a large army, to revenge the shameful treatment 
she and her daughters had received at the hands of the Ro- 
mans. With great boldness she attacked and captured Lon- 
don, which had then become an important trading-town, and 
put seventy thousand Romans to death. But her victory was 
of short duration ; for she was soon after defeated by Suetonius, 
when a merciless slaughter of eighty thousand Britons — men, 
women, and children — took place. To avoid capture, Boadicea 
ended her life with poison. 

8. But the Roman power was more fully established in Britain 
by Agric'ola, who came to the island about A.D. 78. His 
Britain victorious Icgious travcrscd the country even to the 
under Agric- foot of the Grampian Hills; and he sen' a fleet 
°^^' around the north of Scodand, and down the west 
coast, thus first establishing to the Romans the fact that Britain 
is an island. Under this ruler the people were encouraged 
to cultivate the soil, to learn some of the useful arts, and to 
adopt a more civilized mode of life. ^ 

9. But the occupation of the country by the Romans was 
maintained principally by the presence of their armies, and at 
Pictsand times with varied success. Frequent raids took 
Scots. place from the northern part of the island by the 
Picts, or Caledonians, and by the Scots, who had come over 
from the north of Ireland. These people were wandering tribes 
of shepherds and hunters, and they gave the Romans and Brit- 
ons much trouble. To prevent these inroads, Agricola estab- 
Roman lislicd a line of forts, and Antoni'nus constructed a 
walls. ^^ Qf earth and. stone across the country from the 
Frith of Forth to the mouth of the Clyde. Some years later 



470.] BRITAIN UNDER ROMAN OCCUPATION. 7 

another wall was erected by Ha'drian from Solway Frith to the 
Tyne, and subsequently this was strengthened by an additional 
wall by the Emperor Seve'rus. 

10. Britain became a flourishing province under Roman in- 
fluence. Christianity was introduced. Many of the people 
adopted the dress and manners of their conquerors, Benefits of 
and erected temples, theatres, and improved dwell- ^oman rule, 
ings. The soil was extensively cultivated, and grain exported ; 
and the mines were successfully worked. Lighthouses and 
bridges were built ; many towns and cities protected by walls 
and fortifications ; and important military roads were construct- 
ed, some of which are now the great thoroughfares of England. 

11. But, early in the fifth century, vast hordes of barbarians 
from Northern Europe were threatening Rome and her prov- 
inces ; and the empire gave many signs of early The Romans 
dissolution. These alarming dangers compelled recalled, 
her to call home her forces ; and about A.D. 420 the last of 
her legions left Britain, and returned no more. 



CHAPTER III. 

SAXON CONQUESTS. — THE HEPTARCHY. 
420 to 827, — 407 years. 

NO sooner had the Romans left the island than the Picts 
and Scots renewed their warfare upon the Britons. The 
Picts and latter had lost somewhat of their early warlike spirit, 
Scots and were unable to repel their northern invaders, 

troublesome, ^y-j-j^ ^ merciless foe on one side, and the ocean 
on the other, they applied to Rome for assistance ; but their 
request was refused. 

2. During the last century or two of the Roman occupation, 
the east coast of Britain had often been visited by Saxon free- 
Saxon free- bootcrs and pirates from the north-western part of 
booters. Germany. They had made some settlements, and 
had caused the Romans considerable annoyance and trouble. In 
their dire distress the Britons now turned to the Saxons for aid. 

3. The history of this period is mingled with much that is 
probably but little more than wild romance. But the com- 
Hengistand mouly- received account is, that a Saxon army, 
Horsa. uudcr the command of two brothers, Hengist and 
Horsa, — invited, perhaps, by the British prince Vor'tigern, — 
came over in A.D. 449 ; and by their assistance the Picts and 
Scots were driven back to their own territories. 

Saxon con- 4' ^^'^^ Saxons, finding the country superior to 

quest of their own, invited over their countrymen from the 

Britain. continent ; and for some years there continued to 

arrive re-enforccmcnts of Saxons, Jutes (Jutlanders),and Angles, 
8 



449-] SAXON COA'QUESTS.— THE HEPTARCHY. 9 

or Engles, from the southern part of Denmark. These people, 
in the course of time, took possession of Britain, reduced the 
inhabitants to submission, and compelled them to leave the 
country, or to retreat to the mountains for safety. 

From the Angles is derived the name England; that is, 
Angle-land. 

5. Violent contests between the Saxons and the Britons 
took place, and the land was the scene of bitter strife for more 
than a hundred and fifty years. King Arthur, a 

^, . . , , . , . , King Arthur. 

British champion, was a most determined antagonist 
of the Saxons, and held them in check for many years, and is 
said to have defeated them in twelve different engagements. 
The history of this renowned prince and his Knights of the 
Round Table has been much celebrated in poetry and romance, 
but is regarded by many as fiction. Lord Bacon observes, 
that " in his acts there is enough of truth to make him famous, 
besides what is fabulous." vSome of the Celtic tribes were un- 
conquered and unconquerable, and fled to the mountains of 
Wales, where their descendants are the present inhabitants of 
that country. 

6. These Saxon invaders were heathen, and they endeavored 
to destroy whatever of Christianity was left in the saxons and 
island by the Romans ; but, in the latter part ot the Christianity, 
sixth century. Pope Gregory sent St. Augustine to Britain, and a 
very general re-introduction of Christianity took place. 

7. As the Saxon tribes came to Britain at different times 
and under different leaders, they did not form one united king- 
dom, but several petty states, varying at different The hep- 
times in number and extent. Seven of these lead- t^rchy. 

ing states, or kingdoms, are known in history as the Saxon 
heptarchy; and their names were, i. Kent, the corner king- 
dom ; 2. Sussex, the South Saxons ; 3. Essex, the East Saxons ; 
4. Wessex, the West Saxons; 5. East Anglia, the land of the 
Angles in the East; 6. Northumbria, the land north of the 
Umber, or Humber; 7. Mercia, the border-land, or the land 
marched over. 



lO HISTORY OF ENGLAND. [827 

8. These kingdoms continued, with many wars and dissen- 
sions, for about two hundred years ; when Egbert, king of Wes- 
Union of the sex (priuce of the house of Cerdic, the first king of 
states. Wessex), succeeded by his prudence and valor in 

uniting them into one monarchy, in 827, under the name of 
England. But Egbert and several of his successors still called 
themselves kings of Wessex. 



CHAPTER IV. 
SAXON KINGS.— DANISH INCURSIONS. 





827-1017, — 190 years. 




Egbert. 


Alfred. 


Edwy. 


Ethelwolf. 


Edward the Elder. 


Edgar. 


Ethelbald. 


Athelstan. 


Edward the Martyr. 


Ethelbert. 


Edmund I. 


Ethelred II. 


Ethelred I. 


Edred. 


Edmund II. (Ironside) 



SCARCELY had Egbert established and regulated his in- 
fant monarchy (827) when he found himself assailed by 
formidable enemies in the Danes, or Nordimen, Danish in- 
whose depredations form a prominent feature in cursions. 
the early history of England, and who continued for upwards 
of two centuries to be a scourge to the country. The swift 
ships of these bold freebooters, bearing the ominous standard 
of the Black Raven, became the terror of every bay and inlet 
on the coast. The object of their early expeditions was plun- 
der; but afterwards they began to make settlements, and to 
wage war with the people for the possession of the soil. 

2. Egbert had fierce conflicts with the Danes ; but, although 
once defeated by them, he finally gained a signal Egbert vic- 
victory over them and their allies the Welsh. His torio^s. 
death occurred soon after, and he was succeeded by his son 
Ethelwolf. 

3. From 8^8 to 871 the throne was occupied successively 
by Ethelwolf and his three sons, Ethelbald, Danish raids 
Ethelbert, and Ethelred. During these four continued, 
reigns the country continued to be in a constant state of alarm 



12 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. [871. 

from the frequent and oftentimes sudden raids of the Danish 
adventurers and pirates, whose path was everywhere marked by 
robbery, burning, and murder. 

4. The reign of Alfred the Great, the youngest son of 
Ethehvolf, and the sixth king of England, which began in 871, 
Alfred and fomis a distinguished era in the early history of the 
the Danes. monarchy. In one year he defeated the Danes in 
eight battles. But by a new irruption they extended their 
ravages, and forced him to solicit a peace. He was compelled 
to seek his safety for many months in an obscure part of the 
country, disguised in the habit of a peasant ; and lived in a 
herdsman's cottage as a servant. In this humble situation the 
herdsman's wife is said, on one occasion, to have ordered him 
to take care of some cakes that were baking by the fire ; but 
he forgot his trust, and let them burn, for which she severely 
reprimanded him. 

5. Success having rendered his enemies remiss, and his fol- 
lowers having gained some advantages, he left his retreat ; and, 
Danes de- in Order to discover the state of the hostile army, 
feated. }-^g entered the Danish camp in the disguise of a 
harper. He excited so much interest by his musical talents, 
that he was introduced to Guthrun, the Danish prince, and re- 
mained with him some days. Having discovered the unguarded 
condition of the Danes, he returned to his adherents, and with 
a large force attacked his enemies by surprise, and defeated 
them with great slaughter. Alfred promised to give the Danes 
territory for a home, if they would embrace Christianity. Guth- 
run and his followers accepted the condition ; and Alfred as- 
signed them the eastern part of Mercia, giving it the name of 
Danelagh, which they occupied for several years. 

6. After having restored tranquillity to his distracted king- 
dom, he employed himself in cultivating the arts of peace, and 
Condition of in raising his subjects from the depths of wretched- 
the people. j-jggg^ ignorauce, and barbarism. Cities and towns 
wiiich had been destroyed by the Danes were rebuilt, a regular 



893-] SAXOA^ KINGS, 13 

militia was organized, and ships of war were constructed to pro- 
tect the coast. Men of learning, and of skill in the various arts, 
were invited from other countries, that he might avail himself 
of their wisdom and counsel. 

7. After a few years, the reign of peace was again interrupted 
by war. Guthrun died; and, soon after, his followers were 
found aiding their countrymen in new expeditions Danish raids 
against England for plunder and pillage. In 893 renewed, 
the famous sea-king Hastings, with a fleet of two hundred and 
fifty ships, appeared upon the coast, and for more than three 
years continued to be the terror of all England. Some of the 
inhabitants joined the invaders; but, after many desperate 
engagements, Alfred was victorious, and the vanquished sea- 
rovers were compelled to retire. 

8. The few remaining years of Alfred's reign were spent in 
most judicious measures for the improvement of his Alfred's last 
kingdom and people; and he died in 901, after a ^^y^- 
reign of thirty years. 

9. The testimony of history is unanimous in praise of this the 
most excellent of England's sovereigns. A successful warrior, 
— having fought in person more than fifty battles by ^ warrior 
land and by sea, and having taken the first steps to- and states- 
wards a standing army and a navy for England, — "^^"" 

he was still greater in the arts of civilization and peace. Some 
writers ascribe to him the first division of England into coun- 
ties ; but it is more than probable that a similar division existed 
at a much earlier date. He collected the laws of the Saxons, 
and formed them into a new code, and established a tribunal 
for the administration of justice, which may, perhaps, have sug- 
gested to a later sovereign (Henry H.) the trial by jury. 

10. Navigation and commerce, manufactures and ^ , 

^ ^ Trade, man- 

useful inventions, found a liberal patron in Alfred ; ufactures, 
and he was himself the oris^inator of a device for ^^^ mven- 

° tions. 

measuring time, clocks and watches being then un- 
known. For this purpose he used wax candles, with notches at 



14 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. [925. 

regular distances, which by their burning measured the inter- 
tervals of time ; and, to protect them from currents of air, he 
enclosed them in lanterns of thin horn. He also encouraged 
the people to improve their dwellings and churches, and to 
adopt many conveniences of life to which they had been un- 
A friend of accustomcd. As a friend of learning, his influence 
learning. ^^3^3 highly uscful. He was the patron, and perhaps 
the founder, of the University of Oxford. He also instituted 
schools ; and, for the instruction of his people, he translated a 
number of works into the Saxon language, and ordered that 
'' all good and useful books " then written in Latin should be 
changed to the language of the people. 

1 1 . The character of Alfred shines forth with distinguished 
lustre in a dark age. He was one of the greatest and best 
His charac- Sovereigns that ever sat on a throne, — equally 
ter and excellent in his private and his public character, 
greatness. j^^ ^^^ distinguished for his personal accomplish- 
ments both of body and mind, and is reputed the greatest war- 
rior, legislator, and scholar of the age in which he lived. 

12. Alfred was succeeded in 901 by his son Edward, sur- 
named the Elder, from his being the first English monarch 
Edward's ^^ "^"^^ name. He resembled his father in military 
successful genius ; and his reign was a continued but success- 
r-ign. £^l struggle against the Northumbrians and Danes, 
who were powerful in the north of England. By his conquests 
he added to his dominions several states which before had been 
merely tributary, and he was the first sovereign who assumed 
the title of King of all England. 

13. Athelstan, an able and popular sovereign, son of Ed- 
ward the Elder (925), was successful in his wars with the 
Athelstan' s Daucs, Northumbrians, Scots, Irish, and Welsh ; 
reign. ^^^ j-^g enlarged and strengthened his kingdom. He 
caused the Scriptures to be translated into the Saxon language, 
and enacted a law which conferred the rank of thane, or gen- 
tleman, on every merchant who made three voyages to the 
Mediterranean. 



941.] SAXON KINGS. - DANISH INCURSIONS 1 5 

14. Edmund, brother of Athelstan (941)? ^^^^^^ some con- 
quests, and his reign promised to be a successful one ; but he 
was suddenly assassinated in his own banqueting- Edmund as- 
hall by the notorious robber Leolf, previously ban- sassinated. 
ished by him, and whom, on this occasion, he had ordered out 
of his presence. He was succeeded by his brother Edred. 

15. Edred (948) was not a man of great talents; but he 
succeeded in reducing the rebellious Danes in Edred's 
Northumbria to a state of subjection, and garri- '"^ig" "^^^"i" 
soned some of the important towns to secure the future peace 
of his kingdom. His principal counsellor was Dunstan, abbot 
of Glastonbury, a man of noble birth, great talents, ^^^^^^^^ 
varied accomplishments, and extraordinary energy, 

and who gained a wonderful ascendency over the sovereign and 
the people. 

16. Edwy, or Edwin, son of Edmund, succeeded Ed- 
red (955) at the early age of sixteen. His reign was an 
unhappy one. Dunstan was making strenuous Edwy's con- 
efforts to reform the secular (married) clergy, in test with 

. . T^ 1 Dunstan, &c. 

which measures he was opposed by the kmg. Ed- 
wy also married his cousin Elgiva, in opposition to the counsels 
of Dunstan, and Odo, archbishop of Canterbury ; and it is said, 
that, on the occasion of a festival following his coronation, he 
suddenly left the festivities to enjoy the society of his queen 
and her mother. This was offensive to the Saxon nobles ; and 
Dunstan and a companion followed the king to his apartment, 
and forced him back to the banqueting-hall. The king was 
indignant at this act, and thenceforth became the bitter enemy 
of Dunstan. 

17. With the consent of Edwy, and by the advice of the 
queen, the property belonging to the community of Glastonbury 
was seized. Dunstan was expelled from his monas- dunstan 
terv and soon after obliged to leave the kingdom, banished, 

•^ T^ 1 J J 1 ^ but returns. 

The Mercians revolted against Edwy, and declared 

in favor of his younger brother Edgar; and Dunstan, with 



1 6 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. [959. 

whom they sympathized, was recalled. Odo declared Edwy's 
Eigiva marriage unlawful ; and Elgiva was arrested and 

murdered. ggj^^- \^x.q Ireland, from whence she soon after es- 
caped, and attempted to join Edwy, when she was seized, and 
cruelly put to death. A series of afflictions followed Edwy, 
who died soon after (in 958), after a reign of less than four 
years, and was succeeded by his brother Edgar. 

18. Edgar's reign (959) was one of peace. He en- 
couraged trade, and kept a powerful fleet, by means of which 
A beneficial he was able to hold the Danes in check, and to 
reign. protect the commerce of his people. He imposed 
a tax upon the Welsh nobles, payable in wolves' heads, — a 
circumstance which probably gave rise to the story that he freed 
his kingdom from wolves. But wolves did not disappear from 
England until some time after the reign of this king. 

19. Edgar promoted Dunstan to the archbishopric of Can- 
terbury, and made him his chief counsellor ; and having heard 
Edgar's mar- of the extraordinary beauty of Elfrida, daughter of 
riage. ^j-^g Y.2A of Devonshire, he sent Athelwold, his 
favorite, to ascertain the truth of it. Athelwold, overcome by 
the charms of Elfrida, on his return assured the king that the 
account of her beauty had been greatly exaggerated ; and he 
obtained the king's permission to marry her himself. But the 
king, having afterwards discovered the treachery of his favorite, 
put him to death, and married Elfrida. Edgar's private charac- 
ter and conduct were not good. 

20. Edgar was succeeded by Edward (975), his son by his 
Edward the first marriage, who was assassinated in the fourth 
Martyr. yg-^j- Qf }-jjg reign, and nineteenth of his age, at the 
instigation of his mother-in-law Elfrida ; and from this circum- 
stance he was surnamed the Martyr. 

21. Ethelred II., the son of Edgar and Elfrida, succeeded 
Etheired's (97S) to the throuc at the age of eleven years. He 
weakness. y^^^ j^ ^yeak mouarch, surnamed the Unready. 
He married Emma of Normandy, sister of Duke Richard II. 



1002.] SAXON KINGS. — DANISH INCUKSJONS. 17 

The Danes committed many depredations upon the kingdom, 
and Ethelred's cowardly poHcy was to bribe the invaders to 
retire. To raise money for this purpose he imposed upon the 
land a tax called " dane^eld," or Dane money ; pay- 

^ . . ^ \ Danegeld. 

mg to his enemies at one time sixte^ thousand 
pounds, and at another twenty-four thousand pounds. When 
these invasions became frequent, and the tax burdensome, such 
of the Danes as the recent invaders had left behind were 
massacred by order of the king, at the Festival of St. Brice 
(1002), without distinction of age or sex. Among the slain 
was a sister of Sweyn, king of Denmark, with her husband and 
children. 

22. When the news of this barbarous transaction reached 
Denmark, it fired every bosom with a desire of vengeance ; and 
a large army of Danes, under their king, Sweyn 

Sweyn. 

(who was the grandson of Beatrix, the daughter of 
Edward the Elder), invaded and ravaged the country. Ethel- 
red fled to Normandy, and Sweyn was acknowledged (1013) 
sole king of England ; but he died before his coronation, and 
Ethelred was again restored. The latter, dying not long after- 
wards, was succeeded (1016) by his son Edmund, surnamed 
Ironside' from his strength and valor ; but his abilities and 
courage were insufficient to save his sinking country. 



CHAPTER V. 

DANISH KINGS. — SAXON KINGS RESTORED. 

1017 to 1066, — 49 years. 

Canute the Great. Canute II. 

Harold I. Edward the Confessor. 

Harold II. 

ON the death of Sweyn, his son Canute, or Knut, was 
proclaimed (1017) king of England by the Danes. 
Canute and Having expelled a younger brother who had 
hischarac- usurped the throne of Denmark, Canute asserted 
his claim to the crown of England, invaded the 
country with a numerous army, and compelled the king to 
divide his dominions with him. Edmund was soon after 
murdered by the treachery of Edric, his brother-in-law ; and 
Canute became sole monarch. He was the most powerful 
sovereign of his time in Europe, and was styled the Great from 
his talents and successes. In the former part of his reign he 
was severe, but in the latter part mild and beneficent ; and he 
died lamented. 

2. Canute was succeeded (1036) by his son Harold, whose 
principal amusement was the chase, and who obtained the sur- 
Haroid. name of Harefoot from his swiftness in running. 
Canute II. Q^ j^jg death (1039) t^""^ throne was filled by his 
brother Canute II., or Hardicanute, the last of the Danish 
kings. The reigns of these two monarchs were short, and sig- 
nalized by few important events ; and both died without issue. 

3. The English now shook off the Danish yoke, and restored 

18 



1 04 1.] DANISH KINGS. 19 

(1041) the Saxon line in Edward, brother of Edmund Iron- 
side ; though the rightful heir of this line was Ed- Edward's 
ward, surnamed the Outlaw, the son of Edmund reign and 
Ironside, who was now an exile in Hungary. Ed- ^ ^'^^'^ ^^' 
ward had been educated in a monastery ; and with regard to 
his life, says Mr. Burke, " there is little that can call his tide to 
sanctity in question, though he can never be reckoned among 
the great kings." He married the daughter of Godwin, the 
Earl of Kent, an ambitious and powerful nobleman, who acted 
a conspicuous part during this reign. Edward was canonized 
by the Pope, and received the surname of Confessor ; and was 
thought to be favored with the special privilege of curing the 
scrofula, or king's-evil. This power was long supposed to have 
descended to his successors ; and the superstitious practice of 
touching for that disorder was continued by the kings of Eng- 
land from this period till the revolution of 1688. During the 
latter part of his reign, Edward rebuilt Westminster Abbey, the 
place of crowning, as well as the burial-place, of many of Eng- 
land's monarchs. 

4. Edward the Confessor, dying without children, is said to 
have bequeathed the crown to William, Duke of Normandy, a 
province in the north-west part of France ; though 

Edgar Atheling, the son of Edward the Outlaw, was 
the rightful heir. Yet Harold — the son of the Earl Godwin, 
g,nd grandson of Esthritha, daughter of Sweyn — was elected 
and proclaimed king by the nobility and clergy. Harold was 
a person of noble qualities, and was a great favorite, having 
distinguished himself by his wise counsels and the subjugation 
of Wales. 

5. William of Normandy resolved to maintain his claim to 
the crown of England by force of arms ; and, having raised 
an army of sixty thousand men, he invaded the The Norman 
country. Harold, at the head of an army about conquest, 
equal in number, met him, and was defeated and slain in the 
memorable battle at Senlac, near Hastings (1066). The Nor- 



20 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. [1066. 

mans lost about fifteen thousand men, and the English the 
greater part of their army. The nation soon submitted to the 
sceptre of William, who was surnamed the Conqueror, and 
whose descendants have to this day occupied the throne of 
England. 

6. This event, commonly called the Conquest, is an im- 
importance portant landmark in English history. It introduced 
of the event. ^|^g Nomian element into the kingdom and upon 
the throne, and had an important bearing upon the future 
of the country, and its relations to other lands. 

7. The state of society at this time was not refined. Some 

progress was made under the Saxons ; but much 

Society. -,1,1 1 

was also lost by the devastations and barbarous 
practices of the Danes. The common people lived in rude huts, 
Dwellings, ^^ which an opening in the roof served as a chim- 
furniture, ncy ; and the windows were furnished with lattice or 

cloth, instead of glass. In the houses of the nobles 
the principal room often served as a family apartment, a ban- 
queting-hall, and sleeping-room, bunks being arranged around 
the walls for beds. Benches and stools took the place of 
chairs ; and the floors, often of earth, were strewn with rushes or 
straw. At meals, knives were used for carving, but not for eat- 
ing ; and fingers supplied the place of forks. The Saxons were 
great eaters, and were fond of exhilarating drinks, which were 
served in horns ornamented with rims and knobs of silver. 

8. The principal amusements were hunting, hawking, jug- 
Amuse- glery, songs accompanied by the harp, chess, and 
ments. Other similar games. Backgammon, which signifies 
" little battle," originated with the Welsh. 

g. The common dress consisted of a tunic of linen or wool, 

over which the females wore a loose dress with flowing sleeves, 

and the men a cloak fastened upon the shoulder by 

Dress. ^ \ 

a buckle, or clasp. Stoc]cings were worn by both 
sexes ; and chains, belts, and other ornaments, were common. 
The women spent much time in spinning, and their embroidery 
was highly valued. 



io66.] SAXON KINGS RESTORED. 21 

10. The king was elective, though generally taken from the 
family of his predecessor ; and the affairs of state were managed 
by an assembly of " wise men," or " Witenage- ^^^^^^^^^^ 
mote," composed of the nobles and higher orders. 

The king was chosen by this body. Lower tribunals in the 
shires or counties attended to the administration of justice and 
the management of local affairs. 

11. Before the time of Alfred there were no schools except 
the monasteries, which were institutions of learning as well as 
of religion. Beda, or Bede, commonly called the schools and 
Venerable Bede, did much for the cause of learning learning. 

as a teacher of monks and of youth, and by the preparation in 
Latin of text-books in nearly all branches then taught. Bede 
lived during the heptarchy, and died in 735. The monks 
were generally well versed in Latin, Greek, theology, and 
astronomy ; also in painting, music, sculpture, and architecture. 
Dunstan was largely instrumental in introducing the Benedictine 
monks, who for a long time were the principal teachers of youth. 
These monks showed great skill with the pen in copying and 
illuminating books upon vellum, or parchment; and it is to 
their labors that we are principally indebted for much of the 
ancient literature that has been transmitted to modern times. 

12. London had not yet become the capital, although it 
was the most important town, with considerable trade. It was 
surrounded by several villages which are now in- London, 
eluded within the present metropolis. The Saxon 

kings held court wherever it pleased them, Winchester being 
their favorite place. 



SYNOPSIS FOR REVIEW. 
I. — Early Britain. 

Name, ancient, and modern. 

People; their character, mode of life, and dwellings. Their 
religion, government, and wars. 

II. — Roman Occupation. 

Caesar's first invasion and its incidents. 

Caesar's second invasion. Caswollon. Native kings. Cym- 
beline. 

Claudius. Caradoc. 

Suetonius, Mona, and Boadicea. 

Agricola. Picts and Scots. Roman walls. Benefits of Ro- 
man rule. Romans leave Britain. 

III. — Saxon Conquest. 

Raids by Picts and Scots. Saxon freebooters. 
Hengist and Horsa. Conquests. King Arthur. Saxons and 
Christianity. The Heptarchy. 

IV. — Saxon Kings, &c. 

Egbert. Danish raids. 

Alfred's reign and character. 

Edward the Elder. His contests with the Danes. The first 

king of all England. 
Athelstan. War with the Danes and others. 
Edmund. His tragical death. 
Edred. Subjugates the Danes and others. Strengthens the 

kingdom. Dunstan. 
EdTvy. His marriage. Contest with Dunstan and Odo. 
Edgar. Peaceful reign. Protects commerce by a fleet. Tax 

upon Welsh nobles. His marriage. 
Edward the Martyr. 
Ethelred II. A weak king. Danegeld. Massacre of the 

Danes. Sweyn. 

V. — Danish Kings. 

Canute and his reign. • 

Harold I. 

Canute II. Saxon kings restored. 

Ed"ward the Confessor. Character and education. King's-evil. 

Harold II. A great sovereign. Subdues Wales. Duke of 

Normandy. Battle of Hastings. Its importance. State of 

society. Dwellings and furniture. Amusements and dress. 

Government, schools, and learning. Benedictine monks. 

London. 



PART IL 

THE FEUDAL PERIOD. 

FROM THE NORMAN CONQUEST TO (HENRY VH.) THE 
TUDOR FAMILY. 

1066 to 1485,-419 years. 



CHAPTER I. 

THE NORMAN FAMILY. 
1066 to 1 154, — 88 years. 

William I., the Conqueror. Henry I. 

William II., Rufus. Stephen. 

UPON William's accession to the throne (1066) a con- 
siderable portion of the kingdom was still in revolt 
against his authority ; and the greater part of his state of the 
reign was spent in wars to secure the consolidation kingdom, 
of the realm. He disgusted the English by promoting his 
Norman followers to all offices of importance ; and he caused 
the Norman language to be adopted in the service of the 
church, as well as in the courts of justice. He is said to have 
introduced the feudal system, by which the nobility Feudal sys- 
received large grants of land, on condition of ren- *^'"' 
dering military service to the king ; and the vassals, or common 
people, were permitted to occupy those lands by rendering 
similar service to the nobles when called upon. The people 
were compelled to extinguish their fires at the sound of the 
curfew-bell (the fire-covering bell), which was rung at eight 

o'clock in the evening. 

23 



24 



HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 



[1087. 



Forest laws. 



2. By his forest laws the king reserved to himself the exclu- 
sive privilege of killing game throughout the kingdom, and made 
it a greater crime to take the life of an animal than 
that of a man. He formed the New Forest by 
depopulating a tract of country about thirty miles in circuit, 

demolishing thirty-six 
parish churches, to- 
gether with the houses 
of the inhabitants. 
One of the most useful 
acts of his reign was 
his compihng " Dooms- 
day Book," which con- 
tained a register of all 
the estates of the king- 
dom. 

3. William possessed 
great abilities both as 
a statesman and a war- 

William's HOr. In 

character. j^Jg perSOH 

he was tall and well- 
proportioned ; and is 
said to have been so 
strong, that scarcely 
any other person in 
that age could bend his bow, or handle his arms. " He had," 
says Mr. Burke, " vices in his composition, and great ones ; 
but they were the vices of a great mind, — ambition, the malady 
of every extensive genius ; and avarice, the madness of the wise : 
one chiefly actuated his youth, the other governed his age. 
The general run of men he looked on with contempt, and 
treated with cruelty when they opposed him." 

4. William II. (10S7), surnamed Rufus from his red 
hair, inherited the ambition and talents of his father, and was, 




A NORMAN KNIGHT. 



hoc] 



THE NORMAN FAMILY. 



25 



like him, tyrannical, perfidious, and cruel. After a reign of 
thirteen years, which was disturbed by insurrections, wiiiiam 11. 
and by quarrels with the ecclesiastics, particularly and his reign, 
with Anselm the primate, he was accidentally shot by Sir Walter 
Tyrrel with an arrow aimed at a stag in the New Forest. 

5. Henry I. (iioo), surnamed Beauclerc, or the scholar, 
on account of his 
learning, 

° Henry I. 

was the 

younger brother of 
William Rufus. He 
took advantage of 
the absence of his 
eldest brother, Robert 
(iioo), the rightful 
heir, who was on a 
crusade to the Holy 
Land, and secured 
the crown for himself. 
He invaded his broth- 
er's Norman domin- 
ions ; and Robert, on 
his return, was de- 
feated, taken prisoner, 
and confined in Wales 
till his death. 

A SAXON PEASANT. 

6. Henry married 

Matilda of Scotland, great-grand-daughter of Edmund Ironside ; 
and in this way the Saxon and Norman families were united. 
The latter part of his life was rendered disconso- ... . 

^ Union of 

late by the loss of his only son, who was drowned Saxon and 
on his passage from Normandy; and from that ^o''"^^" 
fatal moment he was never seen to smile. Henry 
was an able, courageous, and accompHshed sovereign, but am- 
bitious, licentious, and ungrateful. 




26 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. [1135 

7. On the death of Henry (1135) the crown fell by right 
to his daughter Matilda, or Maud, married first to Henry V., 
Accession of Emperor of Germany, and afterwards to Geoffrey 
Stephen. Plantagenet, Earl of Anjou. By the latter she had 
several children, of whom the eldest bore the name of Henry. 
But Stephen, a nephew of the late king, the most popular 
nobleman in the kingdom, and distinguished for his ambition, 
valor, generosity, and courtesy, seized upon the crown. Matilda 
immediately landed in England, and, raising a small army, 
defeated Stephen, and took possession of the crown : but her 
haughty and despotic behavior caused a revolt ; and Stephen 
in his turn defeated her, compelled her to quit the kingdom, 
and again obtained possession of the throne. 

8. Henry, the son of Matilda, afterwards invaded England ; 
and, during the heat of the contest, Eustace, the king's eldest 
Secures the son, was removcd by a sudden death. Soon after 
throne. ^-^^ cvcnt the jarring interests of the two parties 
were reconciled, Stephen being allowed to retain the crown 
during his life, and Henry being acknowledged as his succes- 
sor ; and this transaction was shortly afterwards followed by 
Stephen's death. During this reign England was harassed and 
desolated by a succession of civil contentions and wars, which 
were carried on with unrelenting barbarity by the pillage and 
destruction of the inhabitants and the conflagration of the 
towns. 



THE PLANTAGENET FAMILY, 

INCLUDING THE BRANCHES OF LANCASTER AND YORK. 
CHAP. II.-IV. 

1154 to 1485,-331 years. 



CHAPTER n. 
THE PLANTAGENETS. 



I 154 to 1399,- 


-245 years. 




lohn. 


Edward I. 


Edward III, 


■lenry III. 


Edward II. 


Richard II. 



Henry II. 
Richard I. 

HENRY II., the first of the Plantagenets, — being de- 
scended by his grandmother from the Saxon kings, and 
by his mother from the Norman family, — succeeded Henry 11. 
to the throne (1154), to the great satisfaction of and his do- 
the nation. He is sometimes called Shortmantle, "^^"'°"^* 
because he brought the use of short cloaks out of Anjou to 
England. In addition to England, he possessed by inheritance, 
and by his marriage with Eleanor, heiress of the duchy of 
Guienne, nearly one-half of France, and during his reign he 
conquered Ireland ; so that he had more extensive dominions 
than any English monarch who had preceded him, and was the 
most powerful sovereign of his age. Of Eleanor, his queen, 
Sir James Mackintosh says, "She was the firebrand of his 
family, in whose eyes the fair dowry of Aquitaine appeared a 

cover for every crime." 

27 



28 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. [1170, 

2. The different countries of Europe had for a century been 
Church and agitated with the contest between Church and State, 
State. Qi- ^^Q ecclesiastial and civil authority. This con- 
test reached its height in England during Henry's reign, of 
which it forms a prominent feature. Thomas a Becket, the 
Thomas k hcro and martyr of the ecclesiastical party, a man 
Becket. Qf extraordinary talents and great ambition, exalted 
his power to such a degree, that it would admit of a question 
whether the king or the archbishop was the first man in the 
kingdom. Becket had for some time held the office of chan- 
cellor, and lived in the manner of a prince ; but, on assuming 
the office of Archbishop of Canterbury, he dismissed his splen- 
did train, cast off his magnificent apparel, abandoned sports 
and revels, and wore the habit of a monk. 

3. During the preceding reign the power of the clergy had 
increased to a most exorbitant height ; and Henry resolved to 
Council of restrain their authority, and reform their abuses ; 
Clarendon. ^^^ f^j- ^j-^ig purpose he Summoned in 1164 a 
general council of tlie nobility and clergy at Clarendon, and 
submitted to them sixteen propositions, which were agreed to, 
and are known under the title of the " Constitutions of Claren- 
don." With other things, it was enacted that clergymen 
accused of any crime should be tried by temporal judges. 
Becket, however, made the most resolute and formidable re- 
sistance to the changes proposed by Henry ; and, after a long 
series of contests with the haughty primate, the king was on a 
certain occasion so exasperated by his conduct, that he rashly 
exclaimed, " What ! among all those whom I have obliged is 
there none who will avenge me of that insolent priest? " The 
Death of words were scarcely spoken, when four knights of 
Becket. distinguished rank, interpreting the king's com- 
plaints as commands, set out with a resolution to avenge the 
wrongs of their sovereign. They pursued the prelate into the 
cathedral, and assassinated him before the altar. 

The account of this transaction filled Henry with consterna- 
tion, and caused great excitement in England. Becket died a 



1 173-] THE PLAMTAGENETS. 29 

martyr to ecclesiastical authority, and the manner of his death 
effected the triumph of his cause. He was canonized by the 
Pope as a saint, by the title of St. Thomas of Canterbury ; and 
numerous miracles were said to be wrought at his tomb, which 
became a celebrated resort of pilgrims. Henry publicly ex- 
pressed his sorrow for having used the rash words which had 
ocasioned the death of the primate, and expiated his offence 
by a humiliating penance at his tomb. Having approached 
within three miles of Canterbury, he dismounted, walking bare- 
foot over the flinty road, which in some places he marked 
with blood, to the consecrated spot ; spent there, in fasting and 
prayer, a day and night ; and even presented his bare shoulders 
to be scourged by the monks with a knotted cord. The assas- 
sins did penance by a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, where they died ; 
and this inscription, in Latin, v;as put on their tomb : " Here 
lie the wretches who murdered St. Thomas of Canterbury." 

4. The latter part of Henry's life and reign presents an in- 
volved and deplorable scene of family discord and contention, 
— sons against their father, wife against husband, Henry's 
and brother against brother. His three eldest sons, family 
Henry, Geoffrey, and Richard, instigated by their *'^°" ^^* 
mother, and assisted by Louis VH., King of France, engaged 
in a series of rebellions, with a design to wrest the crown from 
their father. Queen Eleanor left her husband, and openly 
associated herself with the rebellion of her sons ; but she was, 
while making her way to the court of France, taken (dressed in 
male attire), brought back to Henry, and kept in confine- 
ment during the rest of his life. The queen had been irritated 
against her husband by his neglect and infidelities, and particu- 
larly by his attachment to Rosamond Clifford, who, under the 
title of the " Fair Rosamond," is described as a woman of ex- 
traordinary beauty, and who made a conspicuous figure in the 
romances and ballads of the times. 

Llenry had manifested for his children, in their more early 
years, an affection bordering on excess ; and when he at last 
found that his youngest, unworthy, but favorite son, John, like 



30 HISTORY OF ENGLAND, [1189. 

all the rest, had joined the confederacy against him, he felt that 
his cup of affliction was full, gave himself up to transports of 
ungovernable grief, cursed the day of his birth, uttered impre- 
cations against his sons (which he could never be prevailed 
upon to retract), and, worn out with cares, disappointments, and 
sorrows, died of a broken heart. 

5. The character of Henry'may be regarded as a mixture of 
the qualities, good and bad, naturally arising out of strong in- 
Henry's tellcct, a Strong will, and strong passions. He was 
character. distinguished both as a warrior and a statesman, 
and he is ranked among the ablest and most useful sovereigns 
that have occupied the throne of England. The government 
was still despotic ; but the power of the barons was restrained 
during this reign, and the laws better administered than they 
had been since the conquest. Trial by jury, sometimes errone- 
ously ascribed to the time of Alfred, probably had its origin in 
this reign ; and Henry was the first who appointed travelling 
judges to hold court in different parts of the kingdom, thereby 
saving much time and expense to the accused and witnesses. 
Henry was also highly successful in checking the lawlessness of 
the Norman barons. Taxes were first levied on personal estate 
in England during this reign. 

6. Henry was a patron of the arts, particularly of Gothic 
architecture ; and his reign is remarkable for being the period 
The arts • wheu many of the sumptuous English edifices were 
comforts of erected, and also for the introduction of various 
^^^^' improvements with regard to the conveniences and 
comforts of life. The arts of luxury, however, were yet in a 
rude state. Glass windows were regarded as a mark of ex- 
traordinary magnificence ; and the houses of the citizens of 
London were constructed of wood, covered with thatch, and 
the floors were covered with straw. 

The description of the magnificence displayed by Becket 
while he was chancellor of the kingdom will afford some idea 
of the rude state of the arts. Nobody, it is said by contem- 



1 189.] THE FLA iVTA GENETS. 3 1 

porary writers, equalled him in refinement and splendor. 
" Every day, in winter, his apartments were strewed with clean 
straw or hay, and in summer with rushes or leaves, that those 
who came to pay their court to him might not soil their fine 
clothes by sitting on a dirty floor." 

7. Richard I., surnamed Coeur de Lion {ktir duh le-ong), 
or lion-hearted, who succeeded his father Henry II. (1189), 
commenced his reign by a cruel persecution of the Richard i. 
Jews. The frenzy for the crusades was at this and the 
period at its height in Europe. These crusades 

were military expeditions undertaken by the Christian nations 
of Europe for the recovery of the Holy Sepulchre and Pales- 
tine from the Mussulmans. To a prince of the adventurous 
spirit and military talents of Richard these enterprises pre- 
sented irresistible attractions ; and, after making preparation, 
he, in connection with Philip Augustus of France, embarked 
on an expedition to the Holy Land. They took Acre in con- 
cert ; and Richard, especially, acquired great renown by his 
exploits, and defeated the heroic Saladin, the famous Saracen 
chief, in the battle of Ascalon, in which about forty thousand 
of the Saracens were slain. On his voyage homeward, being 
shipwrecked, he disguised himself, with an intention of travel- 
ling through Germany ; but he was discovered, and imprisoned 
by the emperor. He was ransomed by his subjects for the 
sum of three hundred thousand pounds, and, after an absence 
of nine years, returned to his dominions ; but he died not long 
after of a wound which he received at the siege of the castle 
of Chains, in France, belonging to one of his rebellious vassals. 

8. Richard, who has been styled the Achilles of modern his- 
tory, was pre-eminent for his valor, which was almost his only 
merit. Even a century after his death his name His charac- 
was employed by the Saracen cavalier to chide his *^''" 
horse, and by the Saracen mother to terrify her children. His 
ambition, tyranny, and cruelty were scarcely inferior to his 
valor. His laurels were steeped in blood, and his victories were 
purchased with the impoverishment of his people. 



32 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. [1199. 

g. Richard was succeeded by his brother John (1199), who 
is supposed to have murdered his nephew Arthur, who was the 
son of Geoffrey, an elder brother, and the rightful heir. Philip 
Accession of Augustus of France supported the claim of Arthur 
John. |-Q j-^g throne ; and, on account of his being mur- 

dered, he stripped the English monarch of his possessions in 
that country. In consequence of this loss of his territories, 
John received the surname of Lackland. 

10. John excited against himself the displeasure of Pope 
Innocent III., who proceeded to lay the kingdom under an 
Quarrel with interdict, and afterwards excommunicated the king, 
the Pope. 2iXiA absolvcd his subjects from their allegiance. 
The wretched monarch was intimidated into submission, and 
on his knees solemnly surrendered his kingdom to the holy see, 
consenting to hold it as the Pope's vassal. In this manner he 
made peace with the Church ; but he brought upon himself the 
universal contempt and hatred of his people. 

11. The barons, under the direction of Langton, the primate, 
formed a confederacy, and demanded of the king a ratification 
Magna of a charter of privileges. John, bursting into a 
Charta. furious passiou, refused their demand. They im- 
mediately proceeded to open war ; and the king, finding him- 
self deserted, was compelled to yield. He met his barons at 
Runnymede, and, after a debate of a few days, signed and 
sealed ( 1 2 1 5 ) the famous deed of Magna Charta, or the Great 
Charter, which secured important liberties and privileges to 
every order of men in the kingdom, and which is regarded as 
the great bulwark of English liberty. John granted at the same 
time the Charter of the Forest, which abolished the exclusive 
right of the king to kill game all over the kingdom. 

12. The character of John is represented as more odious 
than that of any other English monarch ; debased by every vice, 
John's with scarcely a single redeeming virtue. His reign, 
character. though most unhappy and disastrous, is, notwith- 
standing, memorable as the era of the dawn of English freedom. 



I2i6.] THE PLANTA GENETS. 33 

13. Henry III. succeeded (1216) to the throne at the age 
of only nine years, under the guardianship of the Earl of Pem- 
broke. He was a weak monarch, timid in danger, Henry in.: 
presumptuous in prosperity, and governed by un- character 
worthy favorites. His lot was cast in a turbulent ^" ^^^z^- 
period of English history ; and his long reign of fifty-six years 
consisted of a series «f internal conflicts, though it was little 
disturbed by foreign war. The incapacity of the king was 
more productive of inconvenience to himself than of misery to 
his subjects. Under his weak but pacific sway the cause of 
popular freedom was advanced, and the nation grew more 
rapidly in wealth and prosperity than it had done under his 
mihtary and more renowned predecessors. 

14. Towards the latter part of the reign of Henry, the 
barons, with Simon de Montfort (Earl of Leicester) at their 
head, entered into a confederacy to seize the reins popuiar 

of government; and they compelled Henry to freedom 
delegate the regal power to twenty-four of their ^^^*"^^'*- 
number. These divided among themselves all the ofiices of 
government, and new-modelled the ParHament by summoning 
a certain number of knights chosen from each county. This 
measure proved fatal to the power of the barons; for the 
knights, indignant at Leicester's usurpation, concerted a plan 
for restoring the king. A civil war ensued. Leicester, at the 
head of a formidable force, defeated the royal army at Lewes, 
and made both the king and his son Edward prisoners. He 
compelled the feeble king to ratify his authority by a solemn 
treaty, assumed the character of regent, and called a parlia- 
ment, summoning two knights from each shire, and deputies 
from the principal boroughs (1265). This is regarded as the 
era of the commencement of the House of Commons, being 
the first time that representatives to Parliament were sent from 
the boroughs. 

Prince Edward, having at length regained his liberty, took 
the field against Leicester, and defeated him with great 
slaughter in the famous battle of Evesham. In this battle 



34 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. [1272. 

Leicester himself was killed ; and Henry, by the assistance of 
his son, was again placed on the throne. 

15. Edward I., sumamed Longshanks from the length of 
Edward I ^^^ ^^^^' ^^ Succeeding to the throne (1272), 
and the caused two hundred and eighty Jews in London to 
Jews. |~jg hanged at once on a charge of having cor- 
rupted the coin ; and fifteen thousand were robbed 

of their effects, and banished from the kingdom. He soon 
after undertook to subdue Wales ; and having defeated and 
slain the sovereign, Prince Llewellyn, he annexed the country 
to the crown of England. He created his oldest son Prince 
of Wales, — a title which has ever since been borne by the 
oldest sons of the English monarchs. 

16. The conquest of Wales inflamed the ambition of Edward, 
and inspired him with the design of extending his dominion to 
War with the extremity of the island. On the death of Alex- 
Scotiand. ander HL, who left no son, Bruce and Baliol were 
competitors for the throne of Scotland ; and Edward was chosen 
umpire to decide the contest between the two rivals. He 
adjudged the crown to Baliol, who engaged to hold it as a vas- 
sal of the King of England. Baliol, however, soon afterwards 
renounced his allegiance : hence arose a war between England 
and Scotland, which lasted, with little intermission, upwards of 
seventy years, and drenched both kingdoms with blood. Ed- 
ward invaded Scotland with a large army, defeated the Scots 
with great slaughter in the battle of Dunbar, and subdued the 
kingdom ; and Baliol was carried captive to London. 

17. While Edward was prosecuting a war in France, the 
Scots were roused to exertion for the recovery of their inde- 
pendence by their renowned hero, Sir William Wallace ; but, 
William ^^^^'^ S^^^'^^"§ ^ series of victories, they were at 
Wallace and length defeated by the King of England, with 
Robert immense loss, in the batde of Falkirk. Wallace 

Bruce. 

became a prisoner of Edward, who put him to 
death with barbarous cruelty. The Scots found a second 



f.^o;.] THE PLANTAGENETS. 35 

champion and deliverer in Robert Bruce, grandson of the 
competitor of Baliol, who, having expelled the Enghsh from the 
country, was raised to the throne of his ancestors. Edward 
prepared to make a new invasion with an immense army, but 
died after having advanced as far as Carlisle. 

i8. Edward, who was one of the greatest of the Enghsh 
sovereigns, was eminent as a warrior ; and, on account of his 
wisdom as a legislator, he has been styled the Eng- Edward's 
lish Justinian. But he was in disposition a tyrant, character, 
and, as often as he dared, trampled on the liberties, or invaded 
the property, of his subjects. He was, however, admired by 
his contemporaries ; and his barons respected the arbitrary sway 
of a monarch as violent and haughty as themselves. His reign 
was highly advantageous to the kingdom, particularly for the 
improvements made in the national code and the administra- 
tion of justice. He repeatedly ratified Magna Charta, and an 
important clause was added to secure the people from the 
imposition of any tax without the consent of Parliament. Ever 
since that time there has been a regular succession of English 
parliaments. 

19. Edward II., surnamed of Caernarvon {Kernaj'von) 
fro n\ the place of his birth, soon after succeeding to the throne 
(1307), in compliance with his father's dying in- Bannock- 
junction, invaded Scotland with an army of one ^"'■"• 
hundred thousand men, which was met at Bannockburn by 
thirty thousand Scots under their king, Robert Bruce (1314). 
A great battle ensued, in which the Enghsh sustained a more 
disastrous defeat than they had experienced since the battle of 
Hastings. 

20. Edward H., who possessed little of the character of his 
father, was of a mild disposition, weak, indolent, fond of pleas- 
ure, and governed by unworthy favorites, the most Edward ii.'s 
famous of whom were Gaveston and the two Spen- character 
cers. His inglorious reign was characterized by ^"*^ '^^'°"' 
the corruption of the court, and by contests and war between 



36 , HISTORY OF ENGLAND. [1327. 

the king and the barons j and his hfe was rendered unhappy 
by a series of mortifications and misfortunes. Isabella, his 
infamous queen, fixed her affections, which had long been 
estranged from her husband, upon Mortimer, a powerful young 
baron ; and she, together with her paramour, formed a con- 
spiracy against the king, and compelled him to resign the crown 
to his son. Edward was then thrown into a prison, and after- 
wards murdered, by order of Mortimer, in a barbarous manner. 
Before his death, and while he was in prison^ Parliament 
declared the throne vacant, thereby establishing its right to 
depose a sovereign. 

21. Edward III. succeeded to the throne (1327) at the 
age of fourteen years. A council of regency, consisting of 
Edward III twclvc pcrsons, was appointed during the minority 
and Mor- of the king ; yet Mortimer and Isabella possessed 
timer. ^^^ chief coutrol. A treaty was made with the 
Scots, virtually acknowledging the independence of their king 
and parliament. But Edward, on coming of age, could not 
endure the authority of a man who had caused the murder of 
his father, or of a mother stained with the foulest crimes. 
Mortimer was condemned by Parliament, and hanged upon a 
gibbet ; and Isabella was imprisoned for life at Castle Risings, 
and continued for twenty-eight years a miserable monument of 
blasted ambition. 

22. The king, soon after he w^as established on the throne, 
made war with the Scots, and defeated them with great slaugh- 
Warwith ^^^ ^^ ^'^^ batde of Hahdon Hill (1333). On the 
the Scots and death of Charles IV., he laid claim, in right of his 
with France. j^-^Q^-j-^gj.^ ^q ^^ crown of France, which he attempted 
to gain by force of arms, in opposition to Philip of Valois, who 
was acknowledged by the French nation as the rightful heir. 
This claim involved the two countries in a long and sanguinary 
war. After having made his preparations, Edward sailed from 
England with a powerful armament. His fleet, consisting of 
two hundred and fifty sail, encountered that of France, amount- 



1346.] THE PLANTAGENETS. 37 

ing to four hundred ships, off the coast of Flanders, and gained 
one of the greatest naval victories recorded in history. The 
loss of the English is stated at four thousand men and two 
ships, that of the French at thirty thousand men and two 
hundred and thirty ships. 

Edward then invaded France at the head of thirty thousand 
troops, and in the famous battle of Cressy (1346) gained a 
splendid victory over Philip, the French king, who cressy; 
had an army of upwards of one hundred thousand the Black 
men, and whose loss exceeded thirty thousand. 
This battle is noted, not only for the greatness of the victory, 
but also for being the first in English history in which cannon 
were made use of, and likewise for being the scene in which 
Edward, the king's eldest son (called the Black Prince from 
the color or covering of his armor) , then only sixteen years of 
age, commenced his brilliant military career. Edward after- 
wards besieged and took Calais, which remained in the posses- 
sion of the English till the time of Queen Mary. 

23. While the English monarch was in France, the Scots, un- 
der their king, David, invaded England, and were de- p^.^. 
feated at Neville's Cross, near Durham, by Philippa, 
Edward's heroic queen ; and their king was led prisoner to Lon- 
don. Of the four generals under the queen, three were prelates. 

24. John, who succeeded his father on the throne of France, 
took the field with an army of sixty thousand men against the 
Black Prince, who, with only sixteen thousand ^ . . 

' ' •' ... Poitiers. 

troops, gained a signal victory at Poitiers {Fwa- 
tiers), 1356. King John was taken prisoner, and led in triumph 
by the victorious prince to London, where he was kept a fellow- 
captive with David of Scotland. 

25. Edward, in the latter part of his reign, sank into indo- 
lence and indulgence, and experienced a reverse of fortune ; 
and, before his death, all his conquests, with the Possessions 
exception of Calais, were wrested from him. His ^°^*- 

son, the Black Prince, falling into a lingering consumption, was 



38 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. [1377 

obliged to resign the command of the army ; and Charles V. 
of France, an able sovereign, recovered most of the English 
possessions in that country. The death of the Black Prince, 
illustrious for his amiable virtues, as well as for his noble and 
heroic quahties, plunged the nation in grief, and broke the 
spirits of his father, who survived him only about a year, having 
occupied the throne fifty years. 

26. Edward was the most powerful prince of his time in 
Europe, and in personal accomplishments is said to have been 
Edward's Superior to any of his predecessors. His domestic 
character administration was in many respects excellent, and 
an reign. advantageous to his subjects. The astonishing vic- 
tories which cast so much military splendor on his reign, and 
which are accounted the most brilliant in English history, appear 
to have dazzled the eyes both of his subjects and foreigners, 
who placed him in the first rank of conquerors. But his wars 
with France and Scotland were unjust in their object; and, 
after having caused great suffering and devastation, he at last 
found that the crowns of those kingdoms were beyond his 
reach. 

In this reign chivalry was at its zenith in England ; and in all 
the virtues which adorned the knightly character, in courtesy, 
munificence, and gallantry, in all the delicate and magnanimous 
feelings, none were more conspicuous than Edward III., and 
his son the Black Prince. Their court was, as it were, the sun 
of that system which embraced the valor and nobility of the 
Christian world. 

27. The title of Duke, now one of the highest orders of 
Order of nobility, was first applied to the Black Prince ; and 
dukes. }^js father first introduced the order of the Knights 
of the Garter. It was also during the reign of Edward that 

the black death, a terrible pestilence, prevailed in 

Pestilence. 

England, by which it is said that half the popula- 
tion of London died, and many villages and towns were de- 
populated. 



1 377-] THE PLANTAGENETS. 39 

28. The language of the people underwent great changes 
during Edward's reign, and towards its close the English lan- 
guage was used instead of the Norman or French The English 
in the courts and in the schools. Sir John Man- language, 
deville, whose account of his travels in the East is one of the 
oldest books written in English prose, lived during this reign. 

29. Richard II., the unworthy son of Edward the Black 
Prince, succeeded to the throne (1377) at the age of eleven 
years. He was indolent, prodigal, perfidious, and Richard 11. 

a slave to pleasure. The administration of the and his re- 
government during the minority of the king was ^^"*®' 
in his own name, but was conducted by a council chosen by 
the peers ; and this council was greatly influenced, though 
oftentimes secretly, by the king's three uncles, — the Dukes of 
Lancaster, York, and Gloucester, — whose contests embroiled 
all the public measures. Of these the Duke of Lancaster, John 
of Gaunt, or Ghent (so named from the place of his birth), 
was the most distinguished, and was possessed of great wealth 
and power : but he became unpopular, particularly with the 
courtiers and clergy ; and he was noted for being (for political 
reasons, as is supposed) the protector of Wickliffe the re- 
former, whose opposition to the Church of Rome commenced 
in the preceding reign, and gained him many adher- 
ents. 

30. K poll-tax of three groats (about one shilling), imposed 
by Parliament upon every male and female above the age of 
fifteen years, excited universal discontent amons: 

, , , r . Wat Tyler. 

the lower classes, on account of its injustice in re- 
quiring as much of the poor as of the rich. One of the brutal 
tax-gatherers, having demanded payment for a blacksmith's 
daughter whom the father asserted to be below the age speci- 
fied, was proceeding to improper familiarities with her, when 
the enraged father, named Wat Tyler, dashed out the tax- 
gatherer's brains with a hammer. The spectators applauded 
the action. A spirit of sedition spread through the kingdom. 



40 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. [1388. 

and a hundred thousand insurgents, under Tyler, were soon 
assembled upon Blackheath ; but the leader was slain, and his 
followers were finally compelled to submit. This movement 
is known in history as the Peasants' Revolt, or Wat Tyler's 
Rebellion. 

31. While the kingdom was convulsed with domestic contests, 
it was also engaged in hostilities with France and Scotland. At 
War with Ottcrbum (1388) was fought, between the English 
Scotland and under Percy (surnamed Hotspur on account of his 
France. ^^^.^ temper) and the Scotch under Douglas, a 
battle, in which Percy was taken prisoner, and Douglas was 
slain. On this battle is founded the celebrated ballad of Chevy 
Chace. 

32. Richard unjustly banished his cousin Henry, the eldest 
son and heir of John of Gaunt (Duke of Lancaster), and on 
The king de- the death of the duke he seized upon his estate ; 
posed. i^yi-^ i^^ ].jj-jg having afterwards undertaken an ex- 
pedition to Ireland in order to quell an insurrection, Henry, 
the young duke, took advantage of his absence, returned to 
England, landed at Ravenspur, soon found himself at the head 
of a numerous army, and compelled Richard, on his return, to 
resign the crown. The king being very unpopular, the Parlia- 
ment readily confirmed his deposition : he was then imprisoned, 
and, as is generally supposed, afterwards murdered. 

John Wickliffe the reformer, and one of the first translators 
of the Bible into English, and Chaucer, the father of English 
poetry, flourished during this and the preceding reigns. 

33. The Duke of Lancaster was raised to the throne with 
the title of Henry IV. ; though Edmund Mortimer was the true 

heir to the crown, being descended from Lionel, 
the third son of Edward III. ; whereas Henry was 
the son of John of Gaunt, the fourth son of Edward III. 
Hence began contests between the houses of York and Lan- 
caster. 

34. At the close of this period (1399) nearly three cen- 



i;09.] THE PLAMTAGENETS. 4 1 

turies and a half had elapsed since the landing of William the 
Conqueror, and during this time great changes had Progress 
taken place in the kingdom. While bitter feuds "^^^e. 
and cruel wars between Parliament, King, and the Church, had 
often devastated the land, we find at the close of the fourteenth 
century that the power of the clergy had been curtailed, and 
that the condition of the lower orders of the people was greatly 
improved. Many of the most objectionable features of the 
feudal system had disappeared, and the House of Commons 
had been organized in Parliament. 

35. Colleges and schools for the education of the higher 
orders had been founded, and the Bible was translated into the 
language of the people, which at that time beeran ^^ 

^ ° 117 o Education, 

to assume the form called Middle English, having language, 
grown up from the languages of the Saxons and ^^^ inven- 

• I tions. 

the Normans, with a slight intermixture of words 
from the Celtic, the Latin, and the Greek. In the science of 
astronomy considerable advancement was made during this 
period ; aiid magic-lanterns were invented in the reign of 
Henry IH. (1260), and spectacles probably soon after, in the 
time of Edward I. Gunpowder and cannon were first used by 
the English in the fourteenth century. 

Coal, which had been for some time in use as fuel, became 
an article of trade from Newcasde to London about 1381. 

36. Trade was commonly carried on at fairs, or in small 
stalls or sheds ; and persons who dealt in silk, ribbons, and 
other goods imported from Milan, received the 

name of " milliners." Wool was no longer sent 
abroad to be woven, but was manufactured into cloth at home. 
Side-saddles for ladies' use are said to have been introduced 
into England by Anne, queen of Richard H. 

37. At times great excesses in eating and drinking prevailed, 
and laws were enacted limiting the number of 

, High living. 

courses at meals. 

38. In dress, extravagance was quite common. The head- 



42 HISTORY OF ENGLAND, LUQQ' 

dresses of fashionable ladies were sometimes three feet in 
height ; and the shoes of the fop projected, and 
turned up in front, and were fastened to the knees 
by chains ; while his head was covered with a richly embroid- 
ered hood. 

39. The state of morals in the fourteenth century was low 
among all classes. Sunday was so commonly desecrated, that 
the Archbishop of Canterbury issued a proclama- 
tion in 1359, forbidding the opening of fairs and 
markets on that day ; and he commanded people to attend 
church on the sabbath, instead of devoting it to business or 
sinful amusement. Mysteries, or miracle-plays, — long and 
tedious theatrical representations of Scripture scenes and 
events, — were a very general amusement of the lower classes 
of people. 



BRITISH ISLANDS ^ 

and portion of J^ 

CONTINENTAL EUROPE 

connected with <P 

English History. ° ^ 



y\ 




CHAPTER III. 

THE BRANCH OF LANCASTER. 

1 399-1461, — 62 years 
Henry IV. Henry V. Henry VI. 

HENRY IV., surnamed Bolingbroke from the place of 
his birth, who succeeded to the throne by the deposition 
and murder of the lawful king (1399) and the ex- a usurper 
elusion of the rightful heir, soon found that the and persecu- 
throne of a usurper is but a bed of thorns. A *°'^' 
combination was immediately formed against him. The Scots 
under Douglas, and the Welsh under Owen Glendower, took 
part with the rebels ; but their united forces were defeated in a 
most desperate and bloody battle at Shrewsbury, and their 
leader, Percy (Hotspur), was killed (1403). 

While a subject, Henry was supposed to have imbibed the 
religious principles of his father, John of Gaunt, the patron of 
Wickliffe and his followers ; but, after he was raised to the 
throne, he changed his faith, endeavored to suppress the 
opinions which his father had supported, and was the first Eng- 
lish monarch who caused his subjects to be put to death on 
account of their rehgious opinions. 

2. Henry was distinguished for his military talents and for 
his political sagacity ; and, had he succeeded to the throne by 
a just title, he might have been ranked as one of character 
the greatest of English monarchs. Hq had been ^^^ reign, 
one of the most popular noblemen in the kingdom. Yet, al- 
though his reign was in many respects beneficial to the nation, 

43 



44 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. [1413. 

he became a most unpopular sovereign. His peace of mind 
was destroyed by jealousy and by remorse ; he was an object 
of pity even when seated on the throne ; and he felt the truth 
of the language which Shakspeare puts into his mouth, — " Un- 
easy lies the head that wears a crown." 

3. The latter part of his life was imbittered by the extreme 
profligacy of his son Henry, Prince of Wales. One of the 
Prince princc's dissolutc companious having been indicted 
Henry. bcforc the cliicf justice. Sir William Gascoigne, for 
some misdemeanor, he was so exasperated at the issue of the 
trial, that he struck the judge in open court. The venerable 
magistrate, mindful of the dignity of his office, ordered the 
prince to be committed to prison. Henry quietly submitted, 
and acknowledged his error. When the circumstance was re- 
lated to the king, he is said to have exclaimed, in a transport of 
joy, " Happy is the king who has a magistrate endowed with 
courage to execute the laws upon such an offender ; still more 
happy in having a son willing to submit to such chastisement 1 " 

4. Henry V., on succeeding to the throne (14 13), imme- 
diately assembled his former riotous companions, acquainted 
A reformed them with his intended reformation, forbade their 
king. appearance in his presence till they should imitate 
his example, and dismissed them with liberal presents. He 
commended the chief justice for his impartial conduct, and 
encouraged him to persevere in a strict execution of the laws. 
This victory which he gained over himself is incomparably 
more honorable to him than the martial exploits which have 
immortalized his name. 

5. The Wickliffites, or Lollards, were now numerous in Eng- 
land, and had for their leader the famous Sir John Oldcastle 

(Lord Cobham), a nobleman of distinguished tal- 
ents, and high in favor with the king. But Henry, 
in matters of religion being under the influence of the clergy, 
and particularly of Archbishop Arundel, gave up to his enemies 
the virtuous and gallant nobleman, who was condemned for 
heresy, and put to death. 



141 5-] THE BRANCH OF LANCASTER. 45 

6. Henry revived the claim to the crown of France, and, 
taking advantage of disorders in that kingdom, invaded it with 
an army of about fifteen thousand men, and de- France . 
feated the French army, amounting to sixty thou- ^invaded, 
sand men, in the memorable battle of Agincourt {Azhankoor), 
14 1 5. The loss of the French amounted to eleven thousand 
killed, and fourteen thousand prisoners. Henry afterwards 
reduced all Normandy," was declared Regent of France, and 
acknowledged heir to the crown ; but death soon put an end 
to his career of victory. ■ 

7. Henry V. was one of the most heroic of the English 
sovereigns, eminent as a warrior, beloved and adored by miU- 
tary men ; and his short reign is one of the most Henry's 
brilliant in English history for military achievement, character. 
But his conquests were of litUe benefit to his people. Henry's 
widow married Owen Tudor, a Welsh chieftain, from whom were 
descended the line of English sovereigns called the Tudor family. 

8. Henry VI. succeeded to the throne (1422) when an 
infant only nine months old, and was proclaimed king both of 
England and France. His education was intrusted Henry's 

to Cardinal Beaufort, brother of his grandfather, guardians. 
Henry IV. ; and his uncles, the Dukes of Bedford and Glouces- 
ter, were appointed protectors or guardians of his dominions, 
— the former for France, and the latter for England. Charles 
VH., the Dauphin of France, being supported by the French 
people, recovered the kingdom by degrees ; and the English, 
being compelled by that extraordinary heroine, ^^ ^^^ 

Joan of Arc, to raise the siege of Orleans, were 
afterwards stripped of all their conquests in that country, except 
Calais and Guienne {Gheen). 

Henry, on coming of age, proved himself to be mild and 
inoffensive, but totally incapable of managing the Margaret 
reins of government. He married Margaret of °^ ^"i°"- 
Anjou {Anzhoo), — a woman whose distinguished talents, 
ambition, and heroism well fitted her to supply the defects of 



46 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. [1455, 

her husband in the wars which distracted his reign ; but her 
intriguing disposition and cruelty multipUed the number of her 
enemies. Discontents prevaihng among the people, an insur- 
rection broke out, headed by Jack Cade, who assumed the 
name of John Mortimer, and collected an army of twenty 
thousand rebels ; but he was defeated and slain. The Duke 
of Gloucester, a favorite of the nation, the chief pillar of the 
house of Lancaster, and presumptive heir to the crown (that 
is, heir in case the king should die without issue), had opposed 
the marriage of Henry with Margaret. From this circumstance 
he became odious to the queen, and his death soon after took 
place in a suspicious manner. This event, added to the imbe- 
ciHty of the king, encouraged the Duke of York to assert his 
claim to the crown. 

9. The houses of York and Lancaster were both descended 
from Edward IIL, — that of York from his third son, and that 
Wars of of Lancaster from his fourth. The rightful tide was, 
the Roses. q{ coursc, on the side of the former. Each party 
was distinguished by a particular badge, or symbol : that of the 
house of York was a white rose, and that of Lancaster a red one : 
hence the civil contests were styled the wars of the Roses. 

This fatal quarrel, which nov/ (1455) broke out into open 
hostilities, lasted thirty years, was signalized by twelve sangui- 
nary pitched battles, and marked by the most unrelenting bar- 
barity. During the contest more than one hundred thousand 
of the bravest men of the nation, including eighty princes of 
the blood, fell on the field, or were executed on the scaffold. 
In the batdes of St. Alban's and Northampton the Lancastrians 
were defeated, and the king was taken prisoner; but Queen 
Margaret, having collected a large army, gained the battle of 
Wakefield (1460), in which the Duke of York was defeated 
and slain. But his son and successor, at the head of a numer- 
ous army, entered London amidst the shouts of the citizens, 
and was proclaimed king (1461) by the title of Edward IV. 



CHAPTER IV. 



Edward IV. 



THE BRANCH OF YORK. 

1461 to 1485, — 24 years. 

Edward V. 



Richard III. 



THE new king, Edward IV. (1461), was not permitted 
to enjoy the crown in peace. The heroic Margaret again 
collected an army of sixty thousand men, which Edward iv. 
was met by the Yorkists to the number of upwards ^"^ Towton. 
of forty thousand, under the command of Edward and the Earl 
of Warwick. A tre- _^^i=g-^g^. 

mendous batde was ^ ^^ 

fought (1461) at Tow- 
ton, in which Edward 
obtained a decisive 
victory ; and upwards 
of thirty-six thousand 
Englishmen, slain by 
one another's hands, 
were left dead on the 
field. Henry, having 
been taken prisoner, 
was confined in the 
Tower, and there (after 
being liberated, and a 
second time impris- 
oned) was finally mur- 
dered (1471), as was supposed, by the Duke of Gloucester, 
afterwards Richard HI. 

47 




THE TOWER OF LONDON. 



48 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. [1464. 

2. The unfortunate queen, accompanied by her son, a boy 
eight years old, while flying from her enemies, was benighted in 
The queen Hcxam Forcst, and fell into the hands of ruffians, 
a fugitive. ^y|-jQ stripped her of her jewels, and treated her 
with great indignity. After she was liberated from them, being 
overcome with fatigue and terror, she sank in despair, but was 
suddenly roused by the approach of a robber with a drawn 
sword. Seeing no way to escape, she rose, and presented to 
him her child : '' My friend," said she, " here is your king's son, 
whom I commit to your protection." The man, pleased with 
this unexpected confidence reposed in him, afforded every 
assistance in his power, and conducted the mother and son 
through numerous perils to a small seaport, whence they sailed 
to Flanders. 

3. The house of York had been hitherto supported by the 
important assistance of Nevil, Earl of Warwick, the most power- 
Eari of ful baron in England, and the greatest general of 
Warwick. j-^jg ^^^^ . j^^^^ Edward having given offence to his 
benefactor, Warwick was induced to abandon him, and to sup- 
port the Lancastrians. By his exertions Edward was deposed ; 
and Henry, after having been a prisoner six years in the Tower, 
was released, and again proclaimed king. Thus Warwick, hav- 
ing restored Henry (whom he had deposed) and pulled down 
Edward (whom he had placed on the throne), obtained the title 
of " King-Maker." But, in the bloody battle of Barnet, Edward 
prevailed, and the brave Warwick was slain. The intrepid 
Margaret Margaret, having returned to England, made a last 
defeated. effort for the crown in the desperate battle of 
Tewksbury (1471), which proved fatal to her hopes. Her son 
was slain, and she herself was taken prisoner, but was after- 
wards ransomed by the King of France ; and in that country she 
passed the remainder of her life in obscurity and neglect. 

4. Edward, being now secured on the throne, gave himself 
up to unrestrained indulgence in acts of tyranny, cruelty, and 
debauchery. His brother, the Duke of Clarence, who had 



1483-] THE BRANCH OF YORK. 49 

assisted him in gaining the crown, he caused, with the con- 
currence of his other brother, the Duke of Gloucester, to be 
impeached and condemned ; and he is said to have 
been drowned in a butt of Mahnsey wine. Edward iv.'s char- 
was possessed of talents, and was reputed the hand- ^*'*^'' ^^^ 
somest and most accompHshed man of his time in 
England. The love of pleasure was his ruling passion. " His 
character," says an elegant writer, " is easily summed up : his 
good qualities were courage and beauty ; his bad qualities, every 
vice." It was in this reign that the art of printing was intro- 
duced (1471) into England by William Caxton, and the king 
was a patron of the new art. 

5. Edward IV. left two sons, the eldest of whom, being only 
thirteen years of age, was proclaimed king (1483) by the title 
of Edward V, Richard, Duke of Gloucester, Richard iii., 
brother to Edward IV., being appointed protector, '**^^ usurper, 
caused Lord Hastings and other distinguished persons to be 
executed without trial, seized the crown on the pretence that 
his nephew (Edward V.) and his brother (the Duke of York) 
were illegitimate, and procured himself to be proclaimed king 
(1483) by the title of Richard III. After two months the 
young princes disappeared, and are said to have been smoth- 
ered in the Tower by order of Richard. 

6. The multiplied and detestable crimes of Richard III., who 
waded to the throne through the blood of his nearest relations, 
found an avenger in the Earl of Richmond, the Battle of 
only surviving heir of the house of Lancaster. The Bosworth. 
armies of the two rivals met at Bosworth in Leicestershire, in 
the central part of England (1485), where a desperate batde 
was fought, which, by reason of Lord Stanley's going over to 
Richmond, proved fatal to Richard, who was defeated and 
slain ; and his rival was crowned on the field by the title of 
Henry VII. 

7. Richard, who was a man of talents and courage, could 
conceal the niost bloody projects under the mask of affection 



50 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. [1485. 

and friendship ; and his insatiable ambition led him to perpetrate 
the most atrocious crimes. He was somewhat deformed in per- 
„. ^ ^ son, but could be affable in manners when it suited 

Richard ' 

iii.'schar- his purpose. His sole ambition was to be king 
acterand ^f England; and to the accomplishment of that 
end he sacrificed principle and friends, or whatever 
stood in his way. But some of his acts were beneficial. He 
rewarded those friends who were faithful to him, and restored 
to their owners many confiscated estates. Trade and commerce 
were encouraged by him, and he established a kind of post 
system by regular couriers for the transmission of information. 

8. The battle of Bosworth terminated the long and bloody 
conflicts between the two houses of York and Lancaster, which 
Influence of ^^^ reduced the kingdom to a state of almost 
the wars of savagc barbarity ; laws, arts, and commerce being 
entirely neglected for the practice of arms. During 
these wars constitutional liberty received a severe check, and 
the whole course of civilization was turned backward. But out 
of much evil some good was derived. The power of the 
ancient nobility was gone forever; for, during the long and 
bloody wars, the greater part of the nobles perished, and feu- 
dalism almost disappeared. 

But the wars of the Roses were not fought in the interests 
of the people : they were the melancholy result of most bitter 
and malignant feuds among rival families of the nobility. 

And as these wars were carried on principally by and for 
the nobility, so their immediate effects fell at first more directly 
upon that class than upon the common people at large and the 
industrial classes. But the long continuance of the wars, and 
the almost exclusive devotion to arms by those who ought to 
have been leaders in good government and in business, finally 
involved the whole nation in consequences most disastrous to 
the welfare of the people and to the progress of freedom. 

It is difticult to find in the annals of the past a sadder and 
more disgusting chapter of history than that which details the 
wars between the houses of York and Lancaster. The con- 



THE BRANCH OF YORK. 5 1 

duct of these wars was everywhere savage and brutal, and was 
destitute of that spirit of chivalry which had before character of 
been characteristic of the English people. The the wars, 
most wanton exhibitions of revenge were common on all sides, 
and often resulted in the execution of personal enemies in the 
most inhuman and disgraceful manner. Patriotism did not 
actuate either party, nor characterize their conduct in the wars. 
Selfishness and revenge seemed to be the leading motives ; and 
the most unblushing treason went unrebuked, and was often at 
a premium. The nobler traits of human character seemed to 
be extinguished or repressed, and the baser passions reigned 
triumphant. Terrible was the ordeal through which the nation 
was compelled to pass, and for all its suffering and its shame 
it has nought to show that redounds to the credit of the parties 
to the Wars of the Roses. 



SYNOPSIS FOR REVIEW. 

PART IL — FEUDAL PERIOD (pp. 25-50). 

I. — The Norman Family. 

William I. State of the kingdom. Feudal system. Forest 

laws. William's character. 
William II. His character, reign, and death. 
Henry I. Norman and Saxon families united. Character. 
Stephen. Accession and reign. Wars. 

II. — The Plantagenet Family. . 

Henry II. His dominions. Church and State. Councils of 
Clarendon. Thomas a Becket. Family troubles. Henry's 
character. The arts. The comforts of life. 

Richard I. and the Crusades. His character. 

John. Quarrel with the Pope. Magna Charta. John's char- 
acter. 

Henry III. His reign and character. Popular freedom. 
Leicester. 

Edward I. The Jews. Wales. War with Scotland. Wal- 
lace and Bruce. Edward's character and reign. 

Edward II. Bannockburn. Character and reign. Isabella 
and Mortimer. 

EdTvard III. Mortimer. War with the Scots and France. 
Cressy. The Black Prince. Philippa. Poictiers. Posses- 
sions lost. Edward's character and reign. Dukes. Pesti- 
lence. The English language. 

Richard II. His regents. Wat Tyler. War with Scotland 
and France. The king deposed. Scholars. Progress. 
Education, language, and inventions. Trade, living, dress, 
and religion. 

III. — Branch of Lancaster. 

Henry iV. A usurper and persecutor. Character and reign. 
Prince Henry. 

Henry V. His reform. Oldcastle. France invaded. Hen- 
ry's character. Origin of the Tudors. 

Henry VI. His guardians. Joan of Arc. Margaret of 
Anjou. War of the Roses. 

52 



SYNOPSIS FOR RE VIE IV. 53 

IV. — Branch of York. 

Edward IV. Tovvton. The queen a fugitive. Warwick. 
Defeat of Margaret. Edward's character and conduct. 

Edward V. His fate. 

Richard III. A usurper. His character and acts. Bos- 
worth. Wars of the Roses, and their influence. 



CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE 

OF ENGLISH AND LEADING CONTEMPORANEOUS SOVEREIGNS AND 
IMPORTANT EVENTS, 

From the Norman Family to the Tudor Family. 



A.D. 
1000. 66. William I. — Henry rV., Germany, 56. Pope Greg- 
ory VII. (Ilildebrand), 73. Malcolm 
III., Scotland, 57. Booksellers first 
known. Surnames first used by nobil- 
ity. Tower of London built, 80. Papal 
power very great. 

87. William II. — Pope Urban II., Duncan II., Scotland. 
First Crusade, 96. Jerusalem taken by 
the Crusaders, 99. 

1 100. Henry I. — Alexander I., David L, Scotland. 

Henry IV., Germany, died, 1106. 
Knights Templar instituted. Writing- 
paper used. 

35. Stephen. — Conrad III, Germany, 38. Moscow 

built, 44. Second Crusade, 47. Mag- 
netic needle known in Italy. 

54. Henry II.— Frederick Barbarossa., Germany, 52. 
Malcolm IV., 53. William, 65. 
Scotland. Saladin. Genghis Khan, 76. 
Bank of Venice founded, 57. Bills of 
exchange used. 
54 



CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE. 55 

A.D. 
1 100. 89. Richard I. -Pope Clement in, Heury VI. (the 

Cruel), Germany. Philip Augus- 
us, France. Papal power supreme. 
Third Crusade, 88. Richard defeats 
Saladin at Ascalon, 92. Jews the 
principal bankers of the world. 

99« John. — Pope Innocent III. Otho IV., 

Germany. Fourth Crusade. Afghan 
Empire founded. The Troubadours. 
Jerusalem taken by the Turks. 

1200. 16. Henry III.- Alexander II. and III, Scotland. 

Louis IX. (St. Louis), France. Coal 
discovered, 37. Astronomy and geog- 
raphy revived by the Moors. 

72. Edward I. -John Baliol, Scotland, 92. Philip 

IV., France, 85. Marco Polo travels 
in the East. Parliaments at Paris, 
94. Spectacles invented, 99. Otto- 
man Empire founded, 99. Mariner's 
compass invented, 1302. 

1300. 7. Edward II. -Seat of the Papacy removed to Avignon, 

8. William Tell. Dante died, 21. 
Swiss confederation established, 7. 
Knights Templar suppressed, 12. 

27. Edward III. -Philip VI., 28; Charles V., 64. 
France. Pope Innocent VI. Two 
hundred thousand Moors invade 
• Spain. Fire-arms, 45. Gunpowder 
invented at Cologne, 40. Turks first 
enter Rome, 52. Tamerlane, 70. 
Great Plague in Europe, 47. 

77* Richard II. — Popes return to Rome. Charles VI., 

France, 80. 

99. Henry IV. — Solyman, Turkey. The Medici su- 
preme in Florence. Canary Islands 
discovered, 5. 

1400. 13. Henry V.-Sigismund, Germany. Paris taken by 

the English, 20. Madeira discovered. 



56 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

A.D. 

1400. 22. Henry VI. — Charles VII., France. James I. and 

II., Scotland. Joan of Arc. The 
Azores discovered, 32. Invention of 
printing, 36. Famine and plague in 
Paris, 38. Vatican Library founded, 
46. Wood-engraving. 

61 . Edward IV. — Louis XL, France. End of Tartar rule 
in Russia. Watches made at Nurem- 
berg, 11' Copernicus born, 73. 

83. Edward V. — Charles VIIL, France. Pope Inno- 
cent vin. 

83. Richard III. — Luther born. ^Esop's Fables printed 
by Caxton. Cape of Good Hope 
discovered, 86. 1 



PART III. 

MODERN ENGLAND. 

FROM THE REIGN OF HENRY VH. (1485) TO THE PRESENT 

TIME. 



CHAPTER I. 

THE TUDOR FAMILY. 

1485 to 1603, — 118 years. 

Henry VII. Henry VIII. Edward VI. Mary. Elizabeth. 

THE hereditary right of Henry VII. (1485) to the 
crown was very defective ; but he strengthened his claim 
by marrying Ehzabeth, daughter of Edward IV.; Henry vii.'s 
and in this way the two houses of York and Lan- *^^^^- 
caster were united. Henry was the son of Margaret (great- 
grand-daughter of John of Gaunt) and of Edmond Tudor. 
The sovereigns of the house of Tudor were arbitrary in their 
principles and character ; but their reign, though disturbed by 
conflicts both domestic and foreign, was, notwithstanding, less 
convulsed by war than that of any other family of English 
kings. 

2. The policy of Henry was pacific, and his reign was com- 
paratively tranquil ; yet it was disturbed by several plots and 
conspiracies, two of which were of a singular char- Two pre- 
acter. One of these was the attempt of Lambert tenders. 
Simnel, the son of a baker, to counterfeit the person of the 

57 



58 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. [14S5. 

Earl of Warwick : the other was a similar attempt of Perkin 
Warbeck to counterfeit the Duke of York, who is said to have 
been smothered in the Tower by the order of Richard III. 
Both of the adventurers aspired to the crown, and met with 
considerable support from the people. Simnel, after being pro- 
claimed King of England and Ireland at Dublin, was taken 
prisoner, and, instead of being executed, was made a scullion 
in the king's kitchen, and afterwards promoted to be falconer. 
Perkin Warbeck, who maintained his cause by force of arms for 
five years, was supported by many of the nobility, and acknowl- 
edged by the kings of France and Scotland ; but, being at last 
taken prisoner, he was executed as a traitor. And, near the 
same time, the real Earl of Warwick (the son of the Duke of 
Clarence, and nephew of Edward IV.), the last male of the 
Plantagenets, who had been imprisoned from his childhood for 
no other crime than his birth, was condemned and'executed on 
a charge of treason. 

3. Henry VII. was more deficient in the feehngs of the heart 
than in the qualities of the mind, and, though much respected, 
Henry VII. 's vvas little beloved. He was wholly devoted to busi- 
character. j^ggg^ prudent and sagacious, little susceptible of the 
social and generous affections, serious and reserved in his man- 
ners, suspicious in his temper, despotic in his government, and 
avaricious in his disposition, the love of money being his ruling 
passion. He was capable of descending to the meanest arti- 
fices, and of employing the most unprincipled agents, in extort- 
ing money from his subjects to fill his own coffers. Empson 
and Dudley, two lawyers, gained an infamous notoriety as in- 
struments of his rapacity and oppression. By his frugality and 
arbitrary exactions he accumulated immense wealth ; and is said 
to have left at his death, in ready money, the sum of one 
million eight hundred thousand pounds, — an enormous amount 
of specie for that age, equivalent to ten million pounds, or, 
according to some, to sixteen million pounds, at present. 

4. His reign was prosperous at home, and respected abroad ; 



1509.] THE TUDOR FAMILY. 59 

and, though not a popular sovereign, he was, perhaps, next to 
Alfred, the most useful prince that had hitherto sat His reign 
on the throne of England. He enacted many wise "sef"i- 
and salutary laws, promoted industry, encouraged commerce, re- 
duced to subordination a factious and insolent aristocracy, and 
taught the peaceful arts of civilized life to a warlike and turbu- 
lent people. By permitting the nobles to alienate their lands, 
he weakened their power, raised the respectability of the lower 
orders, and gave a mortal wound to the feudal system. He 
expended fourteen thousand pounds in building one ship, 
named " The Great Harry," which may be considered as the 
beginning of the English navy, inasmuch as the government, 
before this period, had no other mode of raising a fleet than by 
hiring or pressing the vessels of merchants. 

5. It was during the reign of Henry VH., and under a com- 
mission from him, that the Cabots made their voyages to the 
New World soon after the first discovery of Colum- spirit of ad- 
bus. The spirit of maritime adventure received a venture. 
great impulse, and eventually contributed much to the improve- 
ment of trade and commerce. 

6. There was also a remarkable revival of learning during this 
period. This was brought about in large measure Revival of 
by the introduction of printing, which rapidly in- learning, 
creased the number of books and lessened their cost, and 
caused a general dissemination of information. 

7. Henry's son Arthur married Catherine of Aragon, daugh- 
ter of Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain ; and his Houce of 
daughter Margaret became the wife of James Stuart. 
(Stuart) IV. of Scotland, from whom descended the house of 
Stuart. 

8. No monarch ever succeeded to the throne of England 
with brighter prospects than Henry VIII. (1509), Uniting 
in his person the claims of the two houses of York prospects of 
and Lancaster, his tide was undisputed. The treas- ^^nry viii. 
ury was well stored, the nation at peace, and the state of the 



6o HISTORY OF ENGLAND. [1513. 

country prosperous. He was eighteen years of age, of beauti- 
ful person, accomplished manners, frank and open in his dispo- 
sition, possessed of considerable learning and fine talents, and 
was regarded by the people with affection and high expectations. 
But these fond expectations were wofully disappointed. As 
the character of the king developed itself, he was found to be 
Disappoint- destitute botli of wisdom and virtue, and proved 
ment. himsclf an unprincipled and cruel tyrant, rapacious 

and prodigal, obstinate and capricious, fickle in his friendships, 
and merciless in his resentments, and capable of sending a 
minister or a wife to the scaffold with apparendy little feeling or 
compunction. 

His government was but little short of a despotism ; and one 
of the greatest wonders respecting it is the degrading servility 
of the people and Parliament in tamely submitting to his 
tyranny, or becoming the passive instruments of its exercise. 
He chose for his ministers men of eminent talents ; but he 
made them feel the effects of his caprice and cruelty. Arch- 
bishop Cranmer was almost the only one of great distinction 
among them who had the good fortune to retain to the last his 
confidence and regard. 

9. By his profusion and expensive pleasures he soon ex- 
hausted the treasures which he inherited from his father. 
Foreign Though his military operations were not numerous, 

^^'■- yet in the early part of his reign he made war 

against Louis XH. of France, invaded the country, and at 
Guinegate gained the battle of the Spurs, so named from the 
rapid flight of the French. The Scots sympathized with the 
Fiodden French ; and, having invaded England, their army 

Field. ^y^g ^-^-^gj. ]jy ^|-^g gngfish, uudcr the Earl of Surrey, 

at Fiodden Field, near the Cheviot Hills. A desperate engage- 
ment ensued (15 13), in which the Scots were utterly defeated; 
their king, James IV., and more than ten thousand knights, 
being slain. Henry was also, in some degree, involved in the 
wars of the two great rivals of the age, — Charles V. of Ger- 
many, and Francis I. of France. 



IS34-] THE TUDOR FAMILY. 6i 

Before he arrived at the age of thirty he wrote a book on 
the Seven Sacraments against Luther the reformer, which 
pleased the Pope so much, that he conferred on him the title 
of " Defender of the Faith," — a title which his successors have 
ever since retained. 

10. But the most memorable transactions of Henry's reign 
were his matrimonial alliances, and the consequences which 
flowed from them. His first wife was Catherine of Matrimonial 
Aragon, widow of his elder brother Arthur, daugh- doubles, 
ter of Ferdinand of Spain, and aunt of Charles V. He had 
been contracted to her at a very early age by the influence of 
his father ; and, after having lived with her about eighteen years, 
he professed to feel conscientious scruples respecting the law- 
fulness of the marriage, on account of her having been the wife 
of his brother ; and, conceiving a passion for the beautiful and 
accomplished Anne Boleyn, he applied to the Pope for a divorce. 
Having experienced various delays, and imagining that hi;; favor- 
ite minister, the celebrated Cardinal Wolsey, was the chief 
obstacle in the way of effecting his object, the king resolved on 
his ruin, and ordered him to be arrested for high treason. But 
the haughty cardinal soon after fell sick and died, having 
exclaimed, in the pangs of remorse, " Had I but served God 
as diligently as I have served the king, he would not have given 
me over in my gray hairs." 

The opinions of various universities favorable to Henry's 
views having been obtained, and the Pope failing to granf the 
divorce, the king caused a court to be held under Quarrel with 
Cranmer. which pronounced his marriage invalid ; *^^ Papacy, 
and Lady Anne was soon after crowned queen. The Papal 
jurisdiction in England was immediately abohshed (1534), the 
monasteries suppressed, some alterations made in the doctrines 
and forms of religion, and the king was declared the supreme 
head of the English Church. 

11. This bold measure greatly aided the reformation in reli- 
gion ; but such a result was probably no part of the king's 



62 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. [1547. 

intention. Though Henry ceased to be a Roman Catholic, he 
was far from being a Protestant. He arrogated infalhbiUty to 
A perse- himself, and caused the law of the Six Articles of re- 

cutor. ligion, termed the " Bloody Statute," to be enacted, 

and condemned to death both Catholics and Protestants who 
ventured to maintain opinions in opposition to his own. The 
venerable Bishop Fisher and the celebrated Sir Thomas More, 
two conscientious Catholics, were beheaded for refusing to 
acknowledge his supremacy. In less than three years after his 
More ^^^^ marriage he caused Anne Boleyn to be con- 

matrimonial demned and beheaded, in order to gratify a new 
troubles. passion for Jane Seymour, whom he married the day 
after the execution, and who died soon after giving birth to 
Prince Edward. He next married Anne of Cleves, but soon 
discarded her because he did not find her so handsome as she 
had been represented ; and Thomas Cromwell, Earl of Essex, his 
prime-minister, having been instrumental in bringing about this 
joyless marriage, lost the favor of his sovereign, and suffered 
death on the scaffold. Catherine Howard, whom he next mar- 
ried, was condemned and executed for adultery. But Cather- 
ine Parr, his sixth wife, had the good fortune to survive him. 

12. Some recent historians take a view of Henry's life and 
character more favorable than that entertained by the enemies 
Henry in of the Tudor family. It is thought that the cir- 
history. cumstances of the age in which this sovereign lived 
should mitigate somewhat the severity with which he has been 
judged. 

13. Henry VIII. left three children, — Mary, daughter of 
Catherine of Aragon ; Elizabeth, daughter of Anne Boleyn ; 
Reign of and Edward, son of Jane Seymour. The last suc- 
Edwardvi. ceedcd him (1547), with the title of Edward 
VI., in his tenth year; Edward Seymour, Duke of Somerset, 
uncle of the young king, being appointed protector ; and after 
his fall the Duke of Northumberland was raised to the same 
office. Edward's short reign was distracted by contests between 



1553.] • THE TUDOR FAMILY. (i7^ 

those to whom the direction of pubHc affairs was intrusted. But 
the Protestant influence prevailed in the government, the cause 
of the Reformation was promoted, and the reformed Hturgy was 
modelled under the direction of Cranmer ; yet a great part of 
the people were still attached to the Catholic faith. 

14. Edward, a prince of great hopes and virtues, died in his 
sixteenth year, deeply lamented. So different was his character 
from that of his father, that he is said never to have His charac- 
signed an order for an execution against any per- *®'^- 

son without shedding tears. Just before his death he had been 
prevailed upon, by the interested influence and intrigues of the 
Duke of Northumberland, the protector, to set aside his sisters 
Mary and Elizabeth, and bequeath the crown to Jane Grey, 
great-grand-daughter of Henry VII., who was married to Lord 
Guilford Dudley, a son of the protector. 

15. Immediately after the death of Edward, Lady Jane Grey, 
who had been appointed successor by the intrigues of her 
friends, was proclaimed queen by her adherents; Lady jane 
but, after wearing the crown ten days, she resigned ^'"^y- 

it, and would gladly have returned to private life. Mary was 
soon acknowledged the rightful heir, and succeeded to the 
throne in 1553. The youth and innocence of Lady Jane and 
her husband (neither of them exceeding their seventeenth year) 
pleaded strongly in their favor ; yet they were both seized, and 
cast into prison. 

16. In the second year after she succeeded to the throne, 
Mary was married to Philip II. of Spain, — a union Her mar- 
unpopular with her subjects, and productive of little "^^e- 
happiness to herself. Upon the announcement of this projected 
marriage several rebellions took place, and in one of these some 
of the friends of Lady Jane Grey took part. This sealed the 
fate of the unfortunate lady, and she and her husband were soon 
after put to death. 

17. Lady Jane Grey, who is described as a rare scholar and 
a young woman of singular virtues and accomplishments, sent, 



64 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. [1555 

on the day of her execution, a message to her husband, who 
desired to see her, informing him that the tenderness of their 
Character of last interview would be too much for her to bear. 
Jane Grey. "Tell him," added she, " that our separation will be 
only for a moment. We shall soon meet each other in a place 
where our affections shall be forever united, and where misfor- 
tunes will never more disturb our eternal felicity." Lady Jane's 
tutor was Sir Roger Ascham, one of the most eminent scholars 
of the time, and a distinguished teacher, who numbered among 
his pupils Queen Elizabeth, Edward VI., and many of the chil- 
dren of the nobility. 

18. Mary was educated a strict Catholic, and she caused to 
be annulled many of the acts of her father, Henry VIII., and 
Mary and of her brother, Edward VI., in favor of the Prot- 
her religion, estants ', and the Catholic religion was restored. 
Northumberland was beheaded ; and Archbishop Cranmer, who 
assisted Henry VIII. in his divorce from Mary's mother, was 
imprisoned i:i the Tower. 

19. Mary's early life was one of sorrow and suffering. The 
unfortunate influence of her father's domestic life, and the fear 
Mary's char- ^^^^^ persecution which she suffered at the hands of 
acter and her cnemics, unfavorably affected her health and 
^° '^^' temper : hence, in her efforts to re-establish and 
protect the Catholic Church, which she sincerely believed to be 
the true church, she was led to extreme measures. A general 
persecution was commenced against the reformers. The men 
Persecu- who had been most forward in establishing the Prot- 
tions. estant religion in England were singled out for pun- 
ishment ; and among the most eminent martyrs who were burnt 
at Smithfield (1555) were Cranmer, Latimer, Ridley, Hooper, 
Ferrar, and Rogers. By these proceedings the feelings of the 
people were shocked. The excellent character of most of the 
sufferers, and the undaunted spirit which they exhibited, pro- 
duced a strong sensation in their favor, and diminished the 
influence of the Church of Rome ; so that these measures 



1 558-] THE TUDOR FAMILY. 65 

tended to forward rather than to check the progress of the 
Reformation. 

20. Through the influence of her husband Mary became 
involved in the war between Spain and France; and in 1558 
the French, under the Duke of Guise (^Gwccz), The loss of 
besieged and retook Calais, which had been in the Calais, 
hands of the English more than two hundred years. The loss 
of this stronghold, the last of her possessions in France, was a 
severe blow to the queen ; and soon after this event she died, 
feeling bitter vexation for the loss, and for being aware that she 
was an object of aversion to her husband and to a great part 
of her subjects. She left few to lament her, and there was 
scarcely the semblance of sorrow for her death. 

21. The accession of Elizabeth to the throne in 1558 was 
hailed by the nation with joyful acclamations. Scarcely had 
she entered upon her new duties when she received Elizabeth's 
an offer of marriage from Philip II. of Spain, the offers of 
husband of her late sister Mary. Philip's kingdom '"^"^^efe. 

at this time embraced Spain, Portugal, Italy, the Netherlands, 
and portions of the East and the West Indies ; and he hoped, 
by marrying Elizabeth, to add England also to his realm. But 
the offer was declined, as were similar ones from the Kings of 
Denmark and Sweden. In the following year the Commons 
asked the queen to fix her choice of a husband : but she re- 
plied that she had espoused the kingdom ; England was her 
husband, and all Englishmen her children ; and that, while en- 
gaged in rearing such a family, her life could not be considered 
unprofitable. 

22. Ehzabeth had a. long and auspicious reign, during which 
trantjuillity was maintained in her dominions, while the neigh- 
boring nations were convulsed with dissensions ; and character of 
England rose from the rank of a secondary king- ^^^ '"^^e"- 
dom to a level with the first states of Europe. The Protestant 
religion was again restored and protected ; the Church of Eng- 
land was established in its present form ; and many Protestants 



66 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. [1567. 

who. had previously sought refuge on the continent now returned, 
and were called "Puritans." The nation attained a higher state 
of prosperity than it had ever before known in agriculture, 
commerce, arts, and literature. This reign, often called the 
" Augustan age of English literature," was illustrated by the 
great names of Hooker (one of the most eminent divines), 
Bacon the philosopher, Spenser the author of " The Faery 
Queen," and Shakspeare. 

23. Elizabeth is charged with treachery and cruelty in her 
treatment of Mary, Queen of Scots, — a woman whose extraordi- 
Mary, Queen nary bcauty and misfortunes seem, in the minds of 
of Scots. many, to have thrown a veil over all the defects of 
her character. Mary was great-grand-daughter of Henry VH., 
and next heir to Elizabeth to the throne of England. She had 
been educated in France as a Catholic, and married, when very 
young, to the dauphin, afterwards Francis H. She had been 
persuaded, imprudently, to assume the title of " Queen of Eng- 
land," — a circumstance which proved fatal to her peace. On 
the death of Francis she returned to Scotland, at the age of 
eighteen years. At this period the Reformation, by the zealous 
labors of John Knox, had made great progress in that country ; 
and the people regarded their Catholic queen with abhorrence, 
and looked to her enemy Elizabeth for support. 

Mary married for her second husband her cousin Henry 
Stuart (Lord Darnley), who soon became disagreeable to her, 
and was in less than two years murdered. In about three 
months after this tragical event she married (1567) the Earl 
of Bothwell, who was stigmatized as the murderer of Darnley. 
Her conduct excited against her the whole kingdom of Scot- 
land. Public indignation could no longer be restrained. The 
nobles rose against her and her husband Bothwell. She was 
taken, confined in the Castle of Loch Leven, and was at length 
compelled to resign the crown to her infant son, who was 
proclaimed James VL ; and her illegitimate brother, the Earl 
of Murray, a friend to the Reformation, was appointed regent 
during the young king's minority. 



1567.] THE TUDOR FAMILY. 6/ 

In less than a year, Mary, by the assistance of friends, effected 
her escape from Loch Leven Castle, and fled into England, 
hoping to secure the favor of her rival, Elizabeth. In this, how- 
ever, she was disappointed. After being kept as a prisoner more 
than eighteen years in different places, she was tried on an 
accusation of having been accessory to a conspiracy against the 
Queen of England, was condemned, and beheaded in one of the 
rooms of Fotheringay Castle in the forty-fifth year of her age. 

24. Elizabeth warmly espoused the cause of the Netherlands 
in their revolt against the authority of Philip II. of Spain; and 
her admiral. Sir Francis Drake, had taken some of The Spanish 
the Spanish possessions in South America. To Armada. 
avenge these offences, and to subjugate the leading Protestant 
power, the Spanish " Invincible Armada," a more formidable 
fleet than Europe had ever before witnessed, was fitted out for 
the invasion of England. 

This armament consisted of a hundred and fifty ships, three 
thousand pieces of cannon, and twenty-seven thousand men. 
It entered the English Channel in the form of a crescent, 
extending its two extremities to the distance of seven miles. 
It was met by the English fleet, consisting of a hundred and 
eight ships, commanded by those distinguished maritime chiefs, 
Howard, Drake, Hawkins, Frobisher, and Raleigh. Being 
gradually weakened, and finally overtaken by a storm, the 
Armada suffered an entire defeat. Only fifty vessels, with six 
thousand men, returned to Spain. 

25. The age of Elizabeth was fruitful in men of talents ; and 
she was assisted in her government by eminent statesmen, 
among whom were Bacon, Burleigh, and Walsing- Eminent 
ham, — men wholly devoted to the interests of the statesmen, 
nation. But her chief personal favorites were unworthy. Of 
these, in the early part of her reign, the principal was Robert 
Dudley, Earl of Leicester. After his death, Robert Devereux, 
Earl of Essex, a young nobleman of accomplishments, talents, 
and high spirit, possessed the first place in her affections. The 



68 HISTORY OF ENGLAND, [1601. 

queen and Essex had many quarrels and reconciliations ; but 
his brilliant career was finally brought to a sad and tragical 
end. 

26. Elizabeth's attention was frequently called to the un- 
settled state of Scotland and Ireland, both of which had re- 
Eari of ceived sympathy and assistance from France and 
Essex. Spain. An Irish chieftain, whom the queen had 
made Earl of Tyrone, raised the standard of revolt, and for 
some time defied all attempts to reduce him and his clan to 
subjection. Finally Essex was intrusted with an army for quell- 
ing this rebellion. But his blunders and delays soon brought 
upon him a reprimand from the queen : whereupon he hastily 
returned to London, thereby incurring the displeasure of Eliza- 
beth, who immediately curtailed his liberty, and caused his 
movements to be closely watched. -Faihng to regain the 
queen's confidence, and to secure the continuance of some 
commercial monopolies which he had formerly enjoyed, Essex 
finally broke into open rebellion, and attempted to seize the 
government ; but his plans were frustrated ( 1 60 1 ) , and he was 
convicted of treason, and beheaded. 

27. Elizabeth, who had surprised the nations of Europe by 
the splendor of her course, was destined to close the evening 
Elizabeth's of her life in gloom and sorrow. Some ascribe the 
last days. deep depression and mental suffering which she at 
this period endured to the neglect which she imagined she ex- 
perienced on account of her age and infirmities, when, to use 
her own expression, " men would turn their backs on the setting 
to worship the rising sun ; " others to the revival of her regret 
for the death of Essex, whom she had given up for his invinci- 
ble obstinacy, but who, she now discovered, had actually thrown 
himself upon her clemency, while his enemies had found means 
to conceal his application. The Countess of Nottingham, now 
upon her death-bed (according to various historians), sent for 
the queen, to confess to her that Essex, while under the sen- 
tence of death, had desired her to convey to Elizabeth a ring 



i603.] THE TUDOR FAMILY. 69 

which she had given him with the assurance that the sight of 
it would at any time recall her tenderness ; but that she had 
neglected to deliver it. The queen, in a frenzy of passiont 
shook the dying countess, exclaiming, " God may forgive you ; 
but I never can ! " From that moment she sank into a deep 
melancholy, rejected all sustenance, and died (1603) in pro- 
found grief, in the forty-fifth year of her reign and the seventi- 
eth of her age. 

28. Elizabeth was distinguished for her learning, and spoke 
fluently Greek, Latin, French, and Spanish. She possessed 
extraordinary talents for government, was great as a jj^j. charac- 
public character, and commanded the high respect ter as a 

of her subjects and of foreign nations. Her three ^°^^''^'&"- 
leading maxims of policy were to secure the affections of her 
subjects, to be frugal of her treasures, and to excite dissensions 
among her enemies. She manifested less regard for the liberty 
than for the prosperity of the people. In the former part of 
her reign she was comparatively moderate and humble, but 
afterwards haughty and severe. Both her disposition and her 
principles were despotic. With regard to religion, she perse- 
cuted both Catholics and Puritans ; but, like her father, she had 
a leaning towards Rome in almost every thing except the doc- 
trine of Papal supremacy. 

29. Her private character is less to be admired, being tar- 
nished with insincerity and cruelty, and destitute of the milder 
and softer virtues of her sex. Her manners were Private 
haughty and overbearing, and her conversation character, 
grossly profane. Vain of her beauty (which she only could 
discover), delighted with the praise of her charms even at the 
age of sixty-five, jealous of every female competitor to a de- 
gree which the youngest and silliest of her sex might despise, 
and subject to sallies of anger which no sense of dignity could 
restrain, she furnishes a remarkable instance of great moral 
weaknesses united with high intellectual superiority. 



70 HISTORY OF ENGLAND, [1603. 



MODE OF LIFE, AND STATE OF SOCIETY. 

30. The Style of living among the nobility at the close of 
the sixteenth century was luxurious, and attended with much 
Style of ceremony and ostentation. On occasions of enter- 
living. tainment and feasting, enormous quantities of food 
and beer were consumed, a great display of plate was made, and 
servants were numerous. Among all classes May festivals and 
weddings were celebrated with great joy and hilarity. 

31. The dwellings of the wealthier classes were quite well 
built ; many of them being of a style in which two projecting 
Dweiiin s wings and a porch were supposed to represent the 
and furni- letter E, the queen's initial. The houses of the 
^^^^' peasants were generally constructed of stone or 
brick, and many articles of useful furniture had been intro- 
duced. Table-covers and napkins were in use ; feather-beds 
had taken the place of the pallet of. straw j and pewter plates 
were used instead of wooden trenchers. 

32. The styles of dress were various, and often extravagant 
Dress and ^^^ grotesque. Commou pins with heads, for 
useful fastening garments, came into use in this century ; 
articles. watchcs were imported from Germany; and the 
manufacture of paper was commenced. 

33. From the Continent, clover, hops, salads, cabbages, and 
melons were introduced and cultivated ; as were also apricots, 
Ve etabies currauts, plums, and cherries from the East. Pleas- 
fruits, and ure-gardens were common, and well laid out, into 
flowers. which wcrc introduced the gillyflower, the carna- 
tion-pink, and several varieties of roses, including the musk- 
rose. 

34. Numerous flocks of sheep were pastured by the peasants. 
Condition "^^^ ^^^^ '^^^ ^"^ article of extensive trade and 
of the manufacture. The common people were generally 
peasantry. industrious and contented; though begging and 
robbery were common, and often called for the interposition of 
the strong arm of the law. 



1603.J THE TUDOR FAMILY. 71 

35. Although many colleges and schools were founded, and 
there were very learned men and women, the sfreat 

, 1 , , , . ^ ■ Education. 

mass of the people were deplorably ignorant. It is 

related that Shakspeare's father, though an alderman, was not 

able to write his own name. 

36. The century was one of activity in commerce and ex- 
ploration. Trade was greatly extended in the East ; cod-fishing 
on the banks of Newfoundland was commenced ; commerce 
ships were sent into the northern seas in search of and expiora- 
whales ; Japan, Greenland, and Northern Russia, ^*°"* 

were visited ; and considerable portions of the New World were 
explored. The voyages of Raleigh and others along the 
American coast, and the circumnavigation of the globe by Sir 
Francis Drake, contributed much in giving a wonderful impulse 
to maritime adventure, 



CHAPTER II. 

THE STUART FAMILY (PART I.). 

(FROM JAMES I. TO THE COMMONWEALTH.) 

1603 to 1649, — 46 years. 

James I. Charles I. 

ELIZABETH, on the approach of death^ nominated for her 
successor the son of her rival Mary, James VI. of Scot- 
Character of land, who was the rightful heir by descent. He 
the Stuarts, ^ook the title of James I. of England (1603), 
and in him the two crowns were united. He was the first of 
he Stuarts, — a family whose reign was one continued struggle 
for power between the monarch and the people, and who were 
characterized by despotic principles, injudicious conduct, and 
such a want of gratitude and good faith as to be proverbial for 
leaving their friends in distress. 

2. James had scarcely arrived in England when a conspiracy 
was discovered for subverting the government, and placing on 
A con- the throne his cousin, Arabella Stuart. The cele- 

spiracy. bratcd Sir Walter Raleigh, who had been distin- 

guished in the preceding reign, was sentenced to death on an 
accusation of being connected in this plot. He was, however, 
reprieved, cast into prison, and, fifteen years after his condem- 
nation, was, at the instigation of the king, barbarously beheaded. 

Another conspiracy followed, of a more daring nature. This 
Gunpowder was the famous " Gunpowder Plot," — a design of 
^^°^' some desperate Catholics to blow up the parlia- 

ment-house, and involve in one common destruction the king, 
72 



i603.] THE STUART FAMILY. 73 

lords, and commons. Just on the eve of its accomplishment 
the plot was discovered ; and Guy Fawkes was taken, having 
matches for firing the magazine in his pocket. 

3. It was the characteristic weakness of James to attach him- 
self to worthless favorites : such were Carr, Earl of Somerset, 
and Villiers, Duke of Buckingham, — men on whom Badasso- 
he bestowed his favors with the utmost prodigality, ciates. 
though they were of profligate character, odious to the people, 
and were possessed of no merit, except external beauty and 
superficial accomplishments. 

4. The spirit of commercial enterprise, so active in the time 
of Elizabeth, gave rise in this reign to extensive schemes of 
colonization, one of which resulted in planting a American 
colony on James River in Virginia, the oldest Eng- Colonies, 
lish town in the United States, and which, in honor of the king, 
was called Jamestown. 

During the reign of Mary the Puritans first made their 
appearance ; and in the time of Elizabeth they became, in 
a considerable degree, • conspicuous. They were The Puri- 
strenuous advocates for freedom in the state, and a *^"^- 
more thorough reformation in religion. At the accession of 
James they cherished high hopes that their views would meet 
with more favor than during the reign of the late queen, inas- 
much as he had been educated in Presbyterianism. But, of all 
persons, they were the most disappointed. So great was their 
dissatisfaction, that some of them sought refuge from their 
restraints and persecutions in the wilds of America, and com- 
menced (1620) the settlement of New England. 

5. The version of the Bible known as King James's Version, 
the one now in use by Protestants, was made during r^^^ common 
the reign of James (161 1) by a large committee English 

of divines and scholars appointed by the king for 
that purpose. 

In 16 1 9 Harvey made his famous discovery of the circula- 
tion of the blood. 



74 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. [1625. 

6. The leading characteristic of James was his love of arbi- 
trary power. The divine right of kings to govern their subjects 
Character without control was his favorite topic in conversa- 
of James. ^jqj-^ g^j-j^^ \^ ]-^j^ Speeches to Parliament. The best 
part of his character was his pacific disposition ; and his reign, 
which lasted twenty-two years, though ignoble to himself, was 
in many respects happy to his people, who were enriched by 
peace and commerce. In his private character his morals were 
far from being pure. He possessed considerable ingenuity, and 
a good deal of learning, but more pedantry. He blended a 
childish and degrading familiarity so incongruously with a 
ridiculous vanity, insufferable arrogance, and a vulgar stateh- 
ness, that he reminds us more of some mock king in a farce 
than a real one on the theatre of history. He was excessively 
fond of flattery, which was dealt out to him with an unsparing 
hand by his bishops and parasites, who styled him the " British 
Solomon ; " yet, in the opinion of less interested observers, he 
merited the appellation given him by the Duke of Sully, — that 
of " the wisest fool in Europe." " He was," says Bishop Bur- 
net, " the scorn of the age, a mere pedant, without true judg- 
ment, courage, or steadiness, his reign being a continued course 
of mean practices." 

7. The increase of commerce, and consequent influx of 
wealth, the diffusion of information, the litde respect cherished 
Spirit of for the personal character of the king, the disap- 
liberty. pointed hopes of the Puritans, the multiplication 
of their numbers, the controversies in which they were engaged, 
and the privations to which they were subjected, all conspired 
to diffuse widely the spirit of liberty. The current of public 
opinion was now strongly turned to an extension of the rights 
of the people, and to a retrenchment of the power of the 
sovereign ; and during this reign the seeds were sowoi of that 
spirit of resistance to despotic power, on the part of the people, 
which in the next produced a subversion of the monarchy. 

8. Charles I. ascended the throne (1625) in his twenty- 



1625.] THE STUART FAMILY. 75 

fifth year, under favorable circumstances. His title was undis- 
puted, and the kingdom was in a flourishing condition. But, 
within the last fifty years, pubHc opinion in the state of ths 
nation had undergone a great change ; and many of kingdom, 
his subjects were extremely jealous of their civil and religious 
liberties, and would no longer be governed by precedents which 
had their origin in times of ignorance and slavery. He soon 
gave proof that he inherited the same arbitrary principles with 
his father ; and the same worthless favorite, Buckingham, re- 
tained his influence and authority. Soon after his accession, 
Charles married Henrietta Maria, daughter of Henry IV. of 
France. 

g. In the latter part of the reign of James, Charles, accom- 
panied by Buckingham, had visited the court of Madrid in 
order to solicit the hand of the infanta in marriage. Arbitrary 
The negotiation, however, failed through the mis- measures of 
conduct of Buckingham ; and England was involved * ^ '"^* 
in a war with Spain. Soon after Charles ascended the throne, 
he was offended with the Parliament for refusing to grant him 
sufficient supplies in carrying on this war, and for resisting his 
arbitrary designs ; and, having adopted the resolution to rule 
without their aid, he proceeded to levy money in various ways, 
independent of their authority. One of these methods was 
by a tax on merchandise, called " tonnage and poundage ; " 
and another by a tax called " ship-money." The 

•' ^ •' Ship-money. 

money raised by the latter was now levied not only 
on seaport towns, but over the whole kingdom ; and Charles 
claimed the right to command his sul^jects, without an act of 
Parliament, to provide and furnish ships, together with men, 
victuals, and ammunition, in such numbers, and at such time, 
as he should think proper, — a claim which struck at the 
vital principle of a free government. This assessment of ship- 
money is the famous tax which first roused the whole nation at 
length to fix and determine, after a long continuance of an 
unsettled constitution, the bounds of their own freedom and 
the king's prerogative. 



76 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. [162S. 

10. A noble stand was made against the payment of this im- 
position by John Hampden, a man who, on account of his high 
John character for talents, integrity, and patriotism, pos- 
Hampden. gessed the greatest influence in parliament and in 
the nation. But although the venal judges decided the cause 
against him, yet he obtained the end for which he sacrificed his 
quiet and his safety. The people, believing that the decision 
was unjust, were roused from their lethargy, and became fully 
sensible of the danger to which their liberties were exposed. 

11. An important measure passed by the Commons early in 
Petition of the reign of Charles was called the " Petition of 
Rights. Rights," — a law which the king was compelled to 
sign, securing the observance of certain rights guaranteed by 
Magna Charta, but which Charles had often disregarded. 

12. The Duke of Buckingham having been assassinated by 
Felton, an Irish fanatic, the Earl of Strafford, the most able and 
Strafford devotcd champiou of the claims of the crown, and 
and Laud. ^j^g most formidable enemy of the liberties of the 
people, became the chief counsellor of the king ; and Arch- 
bishop Laud had the principal influence in ecclesiastical affairs. 
The current of the public sentiment was now running strongly 
towards Puritanism, in favor of a simpler form of worship. But 
Laud, so far from countenancing this tendency, had overloaded 
the church with new ceremonies, which were displeasing to the 
people, and which he enforced with the most intolerant zeal. 
Not satisfied with attempting to enforce conformity in England, 
the king undertook to establish episcopacy in Scotland also, 
and to impose the use of the English liturgy upon the national 
church. This measure excited a strong sensation among all 
ranks, from the peer to the peasant : even the women were not 
backward in manifesting opposition. Li one of the churches 
of Edinburgh, on the day when the introduction of the liturgy 
was first attempted, no sooner had the service begun than an 
old woman, impefled by sudden indignation, started up, and, 
exclaiming aloud against the innovation, threw the stool on 



1640.] THE STUART FAMILY. 77 

which she had been sitting at the preacher's head. The assem- 
bly was instantly in confusion, nor could the minister finish the 
service. The people from without burst open the doors, and 
broke the windows ; and a scene of great disorder brought the 
services to an end. 

13. The prelates were equally unsuccessful in most instances, 
throughout Scotland, in enforcing the liturgy. The National 
Covenant, which was first framed at the Reforma- opposition 
tion, and which renounced Episcopacy as well as toepisco- 
Roman Catholicism, was renewed, and subscribed ^^^^' 

by all ranks ; and afterwards a new bond, of similar purport, 
but still more determined and hostile in its spirit, styled the 
"Solemn League and Covenant," was formed and signed by 
many in England as well as in Scotland, who combined for their 
mutual defence. 

14. After eleven years' intermission, the king found it neces- 
sary in 1 640 to convoke a parliament ; but the House of Com- 
mons, instead of listening to his demands for sup- The king and 
plies, began with presenting the public grievances parliament, 
under three heads, — those of the broken privileges of Parlia- 
ment, of illegal taxes, and of violence done to the cause of re- 
ligion. Charles, perceiving he had nothing favorable to hope 
from their deliberations, soon dissolved the Assembly. By an- 
other parliam'ent, which was not long afterwards assembled, 
Strafford and Laud were sent to the Tower on several charges 
of endeavoring to subvert the constitution, and to introduce 
arbitrary power. Sjrafford was brought to trial on a charge of 
treason, and was condemned and beheaded ; and, five years 
afterwards. Laud suffered the same fate. 

15. Charles had, in 1629, violated the privileges of Parlia- 
ment by causing nine members to be imprisoned for the part 
which they had taken in debate. But he was now ^^j^ meas- 
betrayed into a still greater indiscretion, which con- ures of the 
tributed much towards kindling the flame of civil *"^' 

war. This was the impeachment of Lord Kimbolton and five 



78 



HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 



[1642. 



distinguished commoners, — Pyni, Hampden, Hollis, Hazlerig, 
and Strode, — and his going himself to the House to seize them, 
leaving two hundred armed men at the door. Having entered 
the House, he ordered the speaker, Lenthal, to point them out. 
^' Sir," answered the speaker, falling on his knees, " I have 
neither eyes to see, nor tongue to speak, in this place, but as 
the House is pleased to direct me, whose servant I am ; and I 
humbly ask pardon that I cannot give any other answer to what 
your Majesty is pleased to demand of me." The king with- 
drew without effecting his object, amidst low but distinct mur- 
murs of " Privilege, privilege ! " 
This ill-advised and abortive 
attempt, which was condemned 
both by his friends and enemies, 
completed the degradation of 
the unfortunate monarch. He 
afterwards apologized to Parlia- 
ment for this conduct. But the 
day of reconciliation was past : 
he had lost the confidence of 
that body, and they were now 
prepared, not only to confine 
his power within legal bounds, 
but to strip him x)f his consti- 
tutional authority. 

16. Both parties resolved to 
stake the issue of the contest 
on the sword, and the standard of civil war was now (1642) 
Civil war erected. The cause of the king was supported by 
and its three-fourths of the nobility and superior gentry, 

par les. ^^ ^^ bishops, and advocates of episcopacy, and 

by the Catholics ; that of the Parliament, by the yeomanry of 
the country, the merchants and tradesmen in the towns, by the 
Puritans, or opponents of episcopacy, comprising the Presby- 
terians, Independents, and other dissenters. The supporters 
of the king were styled " Cavaliers ; " those of the Parliament, 




A CAVALIER. 



i642.] 



THE STUART FAMILY. 



79 



" Roundheads," — an appellation given to them by their adver- 
saries because many of them cropped their hair short. 

17. A religious spirit, unfortunately tinctured with fanaticism, 
extravagance, and party feeling, was at this period widely diffused 
throughout Great Britain ; and it formed a prominent character- 
istic of most of the leaders in Parliament, and also of those 
who took up arms in defence of their liberties. The charge of 
license and excess fell chiefly on the royalists, a great part of 
whom were men of pleasure, disposed to deride the sanctity 
and austere morality of their opponents. " All the sober men 
that I was acquainted with, who were 
against the Parliament," says the cele- 
brated Richard Baxter, " used to say, 
* The king had the better cause ; but 
the Parliament had the better men.' " 

18. England had been comparatively 
but litde engaged in war since the ac- 
cession of Henry VII., and it had but 
few men of military experience. The 
chief commanders in the Leaders and 
royal army, besides the I'atties. 
king, were the Earl of Lindsey, Prince 
Rupert, and Sir Jacob Astley ; and in 
the parliamentary army the Earl of 7^ 
Essex had the chief command at first, ^^^ 
then Lord Fairfax, and afterwards Oliver 
Cromwell. In the early part of the 
contest, each side lost one of their greatest and best men, — 
Hampden on the part of th^ Parliament, and Lord Falkland 
on that of the king. In the battles of Edgehill (1642) and 
Newbury (1643) ^'^^ royalists had the advantage; but in those 
of Marston Moor (1643) ^-n^ Naseby (1645) they were entirely 
defeated. 

19. After the war had raged nearly five years the king fell 
into the hands of his enemies, who held him for some time a 




A ROUNDHEAD. 



8o HISTORY OF ENGLAND. [16491 

prisoner. At length a minority of the House of Commons, 
after having expelled their colleagues, being under the influ- 
Charies cnce of the parliamentary army, instituted a high 

arraigned. court of justice, composed of a hundred and thirty- 
three members, for trying him on a charge of treason. Of this 
court Bradshaw was appointed president. The king, having 
been arraigned before this tribunal, received the sentence, that 
" the court, being satisfied that Charles Stuart is guilty of the 
crimes of which he has been charged, do adjudge him — as a 
tyrant, traitor, murderer, and public enemy to the good people 
of the nation — to be put to death by severing his head from 
his body." 

20. Charles was now no longer the man he had been before 
the civil war. Affliction had chastened his mind. He had 
Submission sought and found strength and relief in the conso- 
and death. latious of religion, and his conduct during his trial 
exalted his character even in the estimation of his enemies. 
He denied the authority of the court, but declared that he for- 
gave those who were the cause of his death, and submitted to 
his fate with fortitude and composure. Having laid his head 
on the block, one of the masked executioners severed it from 
his body at a blow : the other, holding it up, exclaimed, " Be- 
hold the head of a traitor ! " while the sobs and lamentations 
of the spectators were mingled with the acclamations of the 
soldiery (1649). 

21. Such was the end of Charles I., — an awful lesson to 
kings to watch the growth of public opinion, and to moderate 
Feelings of their prctcnsious in conformity with the reasonable 
the nation. desircs of their subjects. His execution, however, 
was contrary to the general feelings of the nation, and was the 
deed of comparatively a few men, actuated by ambition or the 
madness of the times. Even of the commissioners appointed 
to sit in judgment on him, only about half could be induced to 
attend his trial. But the manner of his death has tended to 
exalt his posthumous reputation ; for, while it has moderated 



1649.] THE STUART FAMILY. • 81 

the reproaches of his adversaries, it has enhanced the enco- 
miums of his advocates, who have styled him the " Royal Mar- 
tyr," and in sympathy for his sufferings, and resentment against 
the regicides, have been disposed to overlook his misdeeds 
which brought him to the scaffold. 

22. It was the misfortune of Charles to inherit despotic 
principles from his ancestors, to be educated in a servile and 
profligate court, and to be surrounded by wretched counsellors. 
He was one of the last men to learn the important ^j^ ^^^^_ 
lesson, which princes in all ages have been slow to acter and 
learn, that the influence of authority must ultimately ^ ^ **^' 
bend to the influence of opinion. But his greatest defect, as 
well as the principal cause of his ruin, was the system of 
duplicity and insincerity upon which he acted in his public 
character. Such was his want of fidelity in his engagements, 
that the Parliament could never confide in his promises. But, 
weak and reprehensible as he was as a king, he was by no 
means destitute of abilities. He was possessed of considerable 
learning, and good talents as a speaker and writer, and in his 
private character was exemplary. In his manners he is repre- 
sented as cold, stiff, and formal, preserving a state and reserve 
which were calculated to alienate those who approached him. 
With respect to religion, " he was," says Bishop Burnet, " much 
inclined to a middle way between Protestants and Papists." 

23. The proceedings of Charles were at direct variance with 
every principle of civil and religious liberty ; and, had they been 
acquiesced in on the part of the people, England Not a friend 
might now have been a despotism. Mr. Hume, the °^ liberty, 
great apologist for the Stuart family, acknowledges the services 
of the Puritans, " by whom alone," according to him, " the 
precious spark of liberty had been kindled and was preserved, 
and to whom the English owe the whole freedom of their con- 
stitution." 

24. The intention of those who first resisted the despotic 
and intolerant measures of the king and his court were doubt- 



82 . HISTORY OF ENGLAND. [1649. 

less upright and patriotic ; and their exertions to secure the 
rights of the nation, which had been wantonly violated, entitle 
His oppo- them to the gratitude of posterity. Yet it must be 
nents. acknowledged that those who opposed the intol- 

erance of the king and of Laud had themselves no consistent 
principles of religious liberty. In the progress of the contest 
party spirit and fanaticism were called into powerful operation ; 
and the leaders of the popular party in many cases acted on 
the principle that the end sanctifies the means, and appeared to 
think themselves absolved from all obligations of honor and 
honesty-. Right and justice were outraged , by those who pro- 
fessed to have drawn the sword in their defence. But such 
inconsistency is characteristic of revolutions. 



M] 



CHAPTER III. 

THE COMMONWEALTH, OR PROTECTORATE. 

1649 to 1660, — II years. 

Oliver Cromwell. 

THE death of the king (1649) ^^as soon followed by the 
abolition both of the monarchy and the House of Lords 
by the Commons. A republican government was Monarchy 
established, and a council of state was appointed abolished, 
as the executive branch of the government, of which John 
Milton the poet was secretary. It was publicly proclaimed 
that the supreme authority of the nation resided in the repre- 
sentatives of the people, and that it should be accounted trea- 
son to give any person the title of king without the authority 
of Parliament. 

2. After the execution of Laud, Episcopacy had been abol- 
ished, and Presbyterianism substituted in its stead. But the 
Presbyterian interest soon began to decline, and the The army 
Independents gained the ascendency ; and the *" power, 
power which the Parliament had wrested from the king was at 
length, by the management of Cromwell, transferred to the 
army. Before the trial of Charles, measures had been taken to 
exclude the Presbyterians from Parliament ; and that part of 
the House which remained, distinguished by the ridiculous 
name of the " Rump," was composed of Independents, under 
the influence of Cromwell. In this manner the Presbyterians, 
who had overturned the church and the throne, fell victims to 

83 



84 . HISTORY OF ENGLAND. [1650. 

the military power which they had used as the instrument for 
accomphshing their designs. 

3. The Parhament of Scotland took no part in the trial of 
the king ; and after his death they proclaimed Charles II. their 
Dunbar and sovereign, ou condition of his signing the Covenant. 
Worcester. Cromwcll, at the head of sixteen thousand men, 
marched into Scotland, and defeated (1650) the royalist Cove- 
nanters in the battle of Dunbar. The royal army, retreating 
into England, was pursued by Cromwell ; and, in the desperate 
battle of Worcester (165 1), almost the whole of the troops 
were killed or taken prisoners, and the victorious commander 
returned in triumph to London. 

4. Young Charles escaped with difficulty. He assumed the 
disguise of a peasant, journeying in the least-frequented roads, 
Charles II. travelling only in the night, and passing the day in 
a fugitive. obscurc cottages, where he was unknown, and where 
his food was generally a little coarse bread and milk. On one 
occasion he sought safety by concealing himself for a day in 
the top of a large oak. In that precarious situation he saw 
and heard his pursuers, as they passed by, talking of him, and 
expressing a wish that they might discover the place of his con- 
cealment. After two months of romantic adventure, he found 
an opportunity of escaping to France. 

5. The republican Parliament passed (1651) the famous 
Navigation Act, which, by prohibiting the importation of all 
War with foreign merchandise, except in English bottoms or 
Holland. \^ thosc of the couutry producing the commodities, 
tended greatly to promote the naval superiority of Great Britain. 
This act, the object of which was to wrest the carrying-trade of 
Europe from the Dutch, was the cause of a war between Eng- 
land and Holland, which terminated in favor of the former, 
and in which the celebrated Admiral Blake distinguished him- 
self, and had for his antagonists the great Dutch maritime chiefs 
Van Tromp and De Ruyter, the former of whom, while sailing 
through the Channel, carried a broom at masthead, thus indi- 



1652.] THE COMMONWEALTH, OR TROTECTOKATE. 85 

eating his determination to sweep the Enghsh fleet from the 
ocean. 

6. The Parhament, which had been in session twelve years, 
known by the name of the " Long ParHament," had lost the 
confidence of the people. It had been subservient CTomweii 
to the views of Cromwell ; but, having at length and Long 
become jealous of him, it formed the design of ^"^ lament, 
reducing the army, intending by that means to diminish his 
power. Cromwell, perceiving their object, and being secure of 
the attachment of the army, resolved on seizing the sovereign 
power. While sitting in a council of officers, on being informed 
of an unfavorable reply of Parliament to a petition which they 
had presented, he rose up on a sudden with an appearance of 
fury, and, turning to Major-Gen. Vernon, cried out that he was 
compelled to do a thing which made the very hairs of his head 
stand on end. Taking with him three hundred soldiers to 
the door, he speedily entered the House, with marks of violent 
indignation in his countenance ; and, after listening a while to 
the debates, he started up, and began to load the Parliament 
with reproaches. Then, stamping upon the floor, he gave a 
signal for his soldiers to enter ; and addressing himself to the 
members, " For shame ! " said he. " Get you gone ! Give 
place to honester men ! I tell you you are no longer a parlia- 
ment : the Lord has done with you ! " Having turned out all 
the members, he ordered the doors to be locked. 

7. In this manner Cromwell seized the reins of government. 
But he was willing to give his subjects a parliament, not, indeed, 
elected in the usual form, but modelled on principles Cromweii, 
entirely new. The ministers took the sense of the Protector. 

'' Congregational churches " in the several counties, and returns 
were made containing the names of such persons as were 
deemed qualified for this high trust. Out of these, the council, 
in the presence of Cromwell, selected a hundred and sixty- 
three representatives, to each of whom a writ of summons 
was sent, requiring his attendance ; and on the appointed day 



86 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. [1653. 

a hundred and twenty of them presented themselves in the 
council-chamber at Whitehall. This body, composed of men 
who were deeply imbued with the fanaticism of the times, is 
known by the name of the "Little Parliament;" and is also 
often called '' Barebone's Parhament," from a leading member, 
a leather-dresser, whose name, given according to the taste of 
the age,, was Praise-God Barebone. The Litde Parliament 
assembled on the 4th of July, 1653, and was dissolved in the 
following December. At the time of its dissolution a new 
constitution was published, and Cromwell assumed the title and 
office of Protector, having now obtained the great object of his 
ambition, — the station and authority, though not the title, of 
king. He was assisted by a council of twenty-one members ; 
and, instead of the title of Majesty, he received that of High- 
ness. He afterwards aspired to the tide of king, which was at 
length tendered to him, yet under such circumstances of oppo- 
sition and danger, that he thought proper to decline it. 

8. The government which he had usurped he administered 
with unrivalled energy and ability, and he was the most able 
Character of ^^^ powerful potentate of his time in Europe, 
his admin- Abroad, his fleets and armies were victorious ; and 
istration. ^|^^ island of Jamaica, and the strong town of Dun- 
kirk in the north-eastern part of France, were taken from the 
Spaniards. At home he defeated and punished the conspiracies 
formed against him ; granted religious toleration ; caused justice 
to be ably and impartially administered by upright and learned 
judges ; made himself to be respected and dreaded by the 
neighboring nations, and his friendship to be sought by every 
foreign power ; and the splendor of his character and exploits 
rendered the short period of the protectorate one of the most 
brilliant in English history. Nor were the rights of England, 
under the reign of any other sovereign, more respected abroad. 
But, notwithstanding all his efforts, his enemies were numerous 
among both the royalists and republicans. He passed the last 
part of his life in constant fear of assassination, wore armor 
under his clothes, kept pistols in his pocket, and never slept 



165S.] THE COMMONWEALTH, OR PROTECTORATE. 87 

more than three nights in the same chamber. At last, after 
having usurped the government nine years, he died of a tertian 
ague (1658), in the sixtieth year of his age. 

9. Cromwell was one of the greatest and most extraordinary 
men that England has produced, and, till the rise of Bonaparte, 
his name was without a parallel in modern Europe. His abilities 
Men were accustomed to look with a feeling of awe *"^ career. 
upon the individual, who, without the aid of birth, wealth, or 
connections, was able by the force of his talents to seize the 
government of three powerful kingdoms, and impose the yoke 
of servitude upon the necks of the very men who had fought 
in his company to emancipate themselves from the arbitrary 
sway of their hereditary sovereign. 

He owed his elevation to his influence with the army ; and 
the character of that body and that of their leader were, in a 
great measure, mutually formed by each other. The officers 
and soldiers made high professions of religion. Religious exer- 
cises were of as frequent occurrence as those of military duty. 
The generals opened their proceedings in council by prayer ; 
and among them Cromwell was pre-eminent in spiritual gifts, 
and was regarded by them as the favorite of Heaven. While 
eagerly toiling up the ascent to greatness, he labored to make 
it appear that he was involuntarily borne forward by a resisdess 
force, by the wishes of the army, by the necessities of the state, 
and by the will of Providence ; and, in assuming authority, he 
yielded with feigned reluctance to the advice which he had 
himself suggested. 

The name of Cromwell has been subjected to the almost 
universal charge of unbounded ambition and deep hypocrisy ; 
and there is scarcely to be met with in the annals of the world 
another man alike conspicuous, and possessed of equal merit 
in his pubhc and private character, who has been more severely 
criticised. This is, indeed, a natural result, as his His place 
course was considered alike hostile to legitimate *" history, 
monarchy and republican liberty, and rendered him equally 
odious to the two leading parties of the times, — the advocates 



88 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. [1660. 

of the privileges of the people, and those of the prerogative of 
the king. But the lapse of time has lessened somewhat the 
severity of judgment passed upon his acts and motives, and 
many regard the principles for which he contended as the 
foundation of constitutional liberty as enjoyed in England at 
the present day. 

10. Cromwell, in private life, in the several relations of a 
husband, a father, a neighbor, and a friend, was exemplary. 
Private From his early days to the close of his career, reli- 
character. gion, or religious enthusiasm, formed a distinguished 
trait in his character ; and it frequently manifested itself in the 
senate and in the field, and also in his domestic retirement. 
Some writers have maintained that he was a dissembler in reli- 
gion as well as in pohtics ; " but this supposition," as Dr. Lin- 
gard justly observes, " is contradicted by the uniform tenor of 
his life." 

11. Richard Cromwell, after the death of his father, was 
proclaimed protector. But the contrast between the father and 
Richard son was Very great. Richard was neither a states- 
Cromweii. xi\2,v\. nor a soldier, had no experience in public 
business, and possessed feeble talents, and little ambition ; and 
after a few months he resigned the office, and retired to private 
life. A state of anarchy succeeded, when Gen. Monk (after- 
wards Duke of Albemarle), the military commander in Scotland, 
marched his army into England, and crushed the contending 
factions. A parliament was assembled ; and on the 29th of 
May, 1660, Charles II., now thirty years of age, was restored 
to the throne of his father. This event is generally called the 
" Restoration." 



CHAPTER IV. 

THE STUART FAMILY (PART II.). 

FROM THE END OF THE COMMONWEALTH TO THE HOUSE OF 

BRUNSWICK. 

1660 to 1714, — 54 years. 
Charles II. James II. William and Mary. Anne. 

THE nation, indiscreetly trusting to the general professions 
of Charles II., suffered him to assume the crown 
(1660) without imposing on him any conditions ; Accession of 
and his reign and that of James II. exhibit a repe- Charles 11. 
tition of struggles similar to those which had occurred under 
the first two princes of the house of Stuart. The first impres- 
sions with regard to the new king were favorable. His man- 
ners were easy and familiar, but his habits were indolent; 
and experience soon proved his character to be profligate and 
worthless. 

2. The change in the public sentiment observable at this 
period is not a litde remarkable. The same people who but 
a few years before were so jealous of liberty, and p^^iic senti- 
exclaimed so loudly against monarchical govern- ment 
ment, are now exhibited as soliciting with eagerness '=^^"8^^'^- 
the return of arbitrary power. A number of the regicides 
were condemned and executed ; and the bodies of Cromwell, 
Ireton his son-in-law, Bradshaw, and the naval hero Blake, were 
dug up from their graves, and hanged upon the gallows, to 
gratify the vindictive spirit of the king and the cavaliers. 
High-Church or Tory principles, and the servile doctrines of 
passive obedience and non-resistance, now came in vogue. An 

^9 



90 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. [1662. 

act of Uniformity in religion was passed (1662), by which 
about two thousand nonconforming ministers were deprived of 
tiieir hvings ; and another attempt was made to estabhsh episco- 
pacy in Scotland. 

3. The prodigality of Charles kept him always in want. 
Dunkirk, which had been acquired by Cromwell, he sold to the 
Charles's French for four hundred thousand pounds, which 
prodigality. ]-jg soou Squandered upon his pleasures. He en- 
tered into hostilities with the Dutch, which were carried on for 
some time with spirit. While this war was raging, London 
Fire and was visited (1665) by a terrible plague, which 
plague. carried off about ninety thousand inhabitants ; and 
that was followed the next year by a fire, by which seventy-nine 
churches and many other public buildings, and more than 
thirteen thousand houses (comprising about two-thirds of the 
metropolis), were reduced to ashes. 

4. In consequence of the unsuccessful issue of the war 
(which was terminated by the peace of Breda, 1667), and of 
rissatisfac- the Sale of Dunkirk, the govermiient became un- 
tion. popular ; and the celebrated Lord Clarendon, on 
whom the odium was chiefly cast, was banished, and passed the 
remainder of his life in France. After the fall of Clarendon 
the government became more unprincipled ; and tiie five minis- 
ters by whom it was conducted have been stigmatized by the 
term of "Cabal," so called from the initial letters of their 
names. 

5. The Duke of York (afterwards James IL), who had now 

the chief influence at court, was an avowed Catholic : Charles, 
Duke of so far as he had any sense of religion, was a con- 

York, cealed one, and had the baseness to receive from 

Louis XIV. of P>ance a pension of two hundred thousand 
pounds a year for the purpose of establishing the Catholic 
religion and despotic power in England. A general consterna- 
tion for the safety of the Protestant religion and of ])u])lic 
liberty prevailed ; and the latter part of Chaiies's reign exhibits 



1685.] THE STUART FAMILY. • 91 

an uninterrupted series of attacks upon the lives, liberty, and 
property of his subjects, and a disgusting scene of party in- 
trigues, and of plots and conspiracies. Yet it was Habeas 
at this period that Parliament passed the Habeas Corpus. 
Corpus Act, — a most important security to the subject against 
personal oppression. 

6. A pretended Popish plot to murder the king, disclosed by 
the infamous Titus Gates, occasioned an unjust execution of 
Lord Stafford and some other Catholics. Another 
pretended conspiracy in favor of reform was called 

the " Rye- House Plot," from the place where the conspirators 
held their meetings, in which those eminent patriots Lord Rus- 
sell and Algernon Sidney were accused of being concerned, 
and, on testimony supposed to be perjured, were condemned 
and beheaded. 

7. The character of the court, as well as that of the king, 
was notorious for its profligacy ; and it had a most unhappy 
influence upon the nation. A general dissoluteness character of 
of manners characterized the reign. All appear- court and 
ance of devotion, and all regularity of morals, were "^**°"- 
regarded as puritanical, and exploded as unfashionable. Charles 
n. was a man of wit and good-humor, and possessed such 
talents as enabled him to shine among his gay and profligate 
companions ; but he had no qualities as a man or a king that 
entitle him to the respect or gratitude of posterity. 

8. Among the distinguished men who flourished in the reign 
of Charles were John Milton, the author of '* Paradise Lost ; " 
Sir Matthew Hale, the incorruptible chief justice ; Distin- 
John Bunyan, the author of " Pilgrim's Progress ; " guishedmen. 
Sir Christopher Wren, the architect of St. Paul's Cathedral in 
London ; the poet Dryden ; John Locke, the philosopher and 
metaphysician ; and Sir Isaac Newton, the discoverer of the law 
of gravitation. Halley the astronomer made the first success- 
ful prediction of the return of a comet (the one bearing his 
name) in 1681. 



92 . HISTORY OF ENGLAND. [1685, 

The astronomical observatory at Greenwich was founded by 
Charles II. ; also the Royal Society for the Promotion of Sci- 
ence, — an association which soon included among its members 
many scholars who became eminent in the various departments 
of learning. 

g. James II., who succeeded (1685) his brother Charles, 
was inferior to him in talents, but much more devoted to busi- 
Characterof ncss. Like his prcdeccssors of the Stuart family, 
James II. j-^g ^y^g arbitrary and impolitic ; and his short and 
inglorious reign was mainly employed in attempts to establish 
the Catholic religion and despotic power. On assuming the 
government he expressed his contempt for the authority of Par- 
liament, and his determination to exercise an unlimited despot- 
ism. Although the Catholics at this time formed but a very 
small proportion of the people of England, yet he undertook 
to set aside the Protestant religion, and, instead of it, to estab- 
lish the Roman-Catholic faith. 

10. The Duke of Monmouth, a natural son of Charles XL, 
who during the preceding reign had defeated the Scottish 
Monmouth Covenantcrs at Bothwell Bridge, having now excited 
and Jeffreys. ^ rebellion with a view to seize the crown, was de- 
feated, taken prisoner, and beheaded. The most inhuman 
rigor was exercised against those who favored him. The atro- 
cious Chief Justice Jeffreys, the most noted as an unscrupulous 
and profligate judge in English history, exercised the most un- 
relenting cruelty. He gloried in his barbarity, and boasted that 
he had hanged more men than any other judge since the time 
of William the Conqueror ; and his bloody career was styled 
by James, with unfeeling jocularity, "Jeffreys' campaign." 

11. The efforts of James in favor of the Catholic religion 
were, for a considerable time, attended with success ; but hav- 
Revoiution ing causcd seven bishops to be committed to the 
of 1688. Tower for refusing to read a proclamation suspend- 
ing the Test Act, which required all officers to conform to 
the Established Church, the passive spirit of the nation disap- 



i688.] THE STUART FAMILY. 93 

peared, and a general indignation was roused. William, Prince 
of Orange, who had married Mary, the eldest daughter of James, 
was invited over, and landed at Torbay with an army, in order 
to assume the government. The principal nobility and officers 
soon joined his standard ; and James, being deserted by the 
people, and even by his own children, escaped to France, where 
he passed the remainder of his life. A convention-parliament 
declared the king's flight an abdication, and settled the crown 
upon William III. and Mary. This event is styled by 
British writers the glorious Revolution of 1688. 

12. The English navy became quite large and efficient 
during the reign of James, who, before he came to 

11 11-1 T • • 1 The navy. 

the throne, had gamed some distmction as a naval 
commander. When Duke of York, he first invented a system of 
marine signals. The national anthem, " God save the King," 
was composed and first sung in the reign of this sovereign. 

13. The British Constitution now became, in many important 
points, fixed and determined. The Protestant succession was 
secured, religious toleration granted, and Presby- principles 
terianism re-established in Scotland. A declaration established, 
was made, fixing the rights of the subject and the prerogative 
of the king. Some of the most important articles are the 
following : i . The king cannot suspend the laws or their execu- 
tion. 2. He cannot levy money without the consent of Parha- 
ment. 3. The subjects have a right to petition the crown. 4. A 
standing army cannot be kept in time of peace, but with the 
consent of Parliament. 5. Elections and parliamentary debates 
must be free, and parliaments must be frequently assembled. 

Archbishop Sancroft, seven other bishops, and a considerable 
number of the clergy, who held "the doctrines of passive obe- 
dience and the divine right of kings and bishops, looking upon 
James as still their lawful king, refused to take the oath of alle- 
giance to William, and were deprived of their stations. From 
this circumstance they were styled Non-jurors, High-Church- 
men, and Jacobites. 



94 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. [1697, 

14. Ireland still adhered to James, and the Parliament of that 
country declared William a usurper. Being assisted by Louis 
Opposition XIV. of France, James landed with some French 
to William, forces in Ireland, where he was joined by a large 
army ; but he was defeated by William at the River Boyne, 
and the country submitted to the new king. A large fleet 
which Louis- XIV. had prepared in favor of James was destroyed 
by Admiral Russell off Cape la Hogue ; and by the Peace of 
Ryswick, which followed (1697), the title of William to the 
crown was acknowledged. 

15. William was a man of feeble constitution, but of distin- 
guished talents, especially in war, to which his taste strongly in- 
wiiiiam's clincd him ; and he was esteemed one of the great- 
character. gs|- commanders of his age. He was rather fitted 
to command respect than affection, as he excelled more in the 
severer than in the milder virtues, being wholly devoted to 
business, and his manners being cold, grave, and reserved. He 
was a firm friend to civil and religious liberty. But he was less 
popular with his subjects than some other sovereigns of far less 
merit. Mary, his queen, and partner of the throne, who died 
seven years before him, was a woman distinguished for her 
virtues. 

16. The Bank of England was founded during William's 
Bank of reign ; and the national debt had its origin about 
England. j^^ -adccdt time, occasioncd by borrowing money to 
meet the great expense of foreign wars. 

17. The material progress of the country during the seven- 
teenth century was considerable, and the condition of the 
Progress of lowcr classcs was improved. This was particularly 
the century, ^-j-^^g ^^^^^ ^j-^^ period of the Commonwealth. A dis- 
tinguished English merchant, who was also chairman of the 
East- India Company, wrote, near the close of that century, 
"that in 1688 there were on the 'Change more men worth ten 
thousand pounds than there were in 1650 worth a thousand; 
that gentlewomen, in those earlier times, thought themselves 



I702.] THE STUART FAMILY. 95 

well clothed in a serge gown which a chambermaid would, in 
1 688, be ashamed to be seen in; and that, besides the great 
increase of rich clothes, plate, jewels, and household furniture, 
coaches were in that time augmented a hundred-fold." 

Trade and commerce flourished, especially with the East and 
with the American Colonies. The cotton manufacture was com- 
menced at Manchester ; and many French Huguenots, driven 
from France, came into England, and set up their business of 
silk-weaving. Roads and turnpikes were improved, stage-coaches 
introduced ; and the mail was carried in bags on horseback, the 
first post-office being established in 1635. ^^^^ coffee, tobacco, 
and spices were introduced ; also calico from Calicut in India. 

In 1670 the Duke of Buckingham introduced into England 
the manufacture of plate glass and crystal by importing work- 
men from Venice. 

A few newspapers were irregularly published during the 
middle and latter part of the century ; but they were frequently 
interfered with by the rigid censorship of the press. 

Many Dutch painters of distinction were in England during 
this period, and the fine arts received considerable attention. 
At the close of the century the population of England was 
somewhat more than seven millions, and that of London was 
more than half a million. Its streets, as described by the 
writers of the time, were narrow, unpaved, and dirty, with no 
lights except the lantern or torch of the nightly traveller. 

18. On the death of William the crown devolved upon Anne 
(1702), the second daughter of James II., who was q^^^^^^^^ 
married to George, Prince of Denmark. In the 
first year of this reign. Great Britain, Germany, and Holland, 
in alliance with each other, declared war against France, called 
the war of the Spanish succession. The Duke of warof 
Marlborough, one of the greatest commanders of Spanish 

. . 1 T . r .^ succession. 

modern tmies, was appomted generalissmio ot the 
allied army ; and the imperial general was the celebrated Prince 
Eugene. In this great contest the allies had gready the advan- 
tage, effectually checked the ambition and encroachments of 



96 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. [1704. 

Louis XIV., and gained the splendid victories of Blenheim 
(1704), Ramillies (1706), Oudenarde (1708), and Malplaquet 
(1709). Gibraltar was captured by Admiral Rooke in 1704, 
and has ever since remained in the possession of the English. 
The war was terminated by the Peace of Utrecht in 1713. 

19. An important event of this reign was the constitutional 
Union of union between England and Scotland ( 1 706), which 
England and put an end to the contests which had harassed 

cotian . \^Q'^ countries, and included them under one com- 
mon title of Great Britain. Scotland was immediately repre- 
sented in Parliament by sixteen peers in the House of Lords, 
and forty-five members in the House of Commons. This union 
proved especially beneficial to Scotland, being followed by a 
rapid development of her business-interests, and by a healthful 
improvement in the condition of the people and society. 

20. Queen Anne was respected for her virtues, and she has 
been honored by the appellation of " Good Queen Anne ; " 
Anne's though, according to Lord Mahon, " she was a 
character. ygj.y ^eak woman, always blindly guided by some 
female favorite." Her principal advisers were the Duchess of 
Marlborough and her husband, — the duke above mentioned. 

The duke was not only an able commander, but a 

Marlborough. ^ , i- , . , r 1 

successful diplomatist, and one of the most accom- 
plished gentlemen of his age ; but at heart he was treacherous, 
mean, and exceedingly avaricious. After a brilliant career he 
and the duchess lost favor with the queen, and retired to the 
Netherlands. 

Anne's reign was distinguished not only for military achieve- 
ments, but also for eminent attainments in philosophy and 
literature, and is sometimes styled the Augustan age of England, 
during which many distinguished writers flourished, including 
Addison, Swift, Pope, Steele, and Bolingbroke. 

The queen died suddenly, in August, 1 714. She had eighteen 
children, all of whom died- young, one only reaching the age of 
eleven years. 



I7I4-] THE STUART FAMILY. 97 

21. The party names of Whigs and Tories, which are some- 
times used to designate parties in England, first became com- 
mon in the reign of Charles 11. The Whigs were 
advocates for the rights of the people : the Tories 

favored those of the crown. The accession of William and 
Mary was advocated chiefly by the Whigs. During the reign 
of Anne, parties ran high : the nation was thrown into a ferment 
by the preaching of Dr. Sacheverell, who inculcated the Tory 
principle of passive obedience ; and towards the close of the 
reign the Tories supplanted the Whigs in the queen's favor, and 
came into power. 

22. The sovereigns of the Stuart family were not friends of 
popular liberty. While they had not that vindic- The st^art 
tiveness towards opponents and offenders so often family, 
exhibited by the Tudors, they were firm believers in the divine 
right of kings. In their judgment, laws were for subjects, and 
not for sovereigns ; and their " high prerogative " seemed to 
them a sufficient justification for whatever policy was dictated 
by their pleasure, interest, or caprice. It was their misfortune, 
perhaps, to live in an age when parliaments had come to mani- 
fest considerable boldness and independence, and when the 
people were noticeably clamoring for freedom of opinion and 
popular rights. Hence factions and convulsions were the rule 
rather than the exception. Some of this family had the welfare 
of the people at heart, and contributed in no small measure to 
the general prosperity of the realm; but they lacked that sym- 
pathy with the people, and that instinct for progress, necessary 
for their position. The age of the Stuarts was one in which the 
opportunity of kings was imperfectly understood, and sinfully 
abused and neglected. 



SYNOPSIS FOR REVIEW. 

PART III. CHAPTERS I.-IV. 

THE TUDOR AND THE STUART FAMILIES. 

Pages 57-97. 

I. — The Tudor Family. 

Henry VII. His title. Character of the Tudors. Pretend- 
ers. Henry's character. Useful reign. Feudal system. 
' Spirit of adventure. Revival of learning. Origin of the 

Stuarts. 

Henry VIII. Prospects and disappointment. Henry's real 
charact6r. Foreign wars. Flodden. Defender of the Faith. 
Matrimonial troubles. Quarrel with the Papacy. Henry in 
history. 

Edward VI. His character and reign. Lady Jane Grey. 

Mary. Her early life ; marriage ; religion ; character ; policy. 
Loss of Calais. Mary's death. 

Elizabeth. Offers of marriage. Character of her reign. 
Mary, Queen of Scots ; her career. Spanish Armada. Emi- 
nent statesmen. Earl of Essex. Elizabeth's last days. Her 
character, public and private. 

Mode of Life, and State of Society. Houses ; furniture ^ 
dress; useful articles; vegetables ^ fruits; flowers. The 
peasantry. Education. Commerce and exploration. 

II. — The Stuart Family. 

James I. Character of the Stuarts. A conspiracy; gunpow- 
der plot. Bad associates. American Colonies. The Puri- 
tans. The English Bible. Harvey. Character of James. 
Spirit of liberty. 
Charles I. State of the kingdom. Arbitrary measures of the 
king. Ship-money. John Hampden. Petition of Rights. 
Strafford and Laud ; opposition to Episcopacy. The King 
and Parliament. Bold measures; civil war and its parties; 
leaders and battles. Charles arraigned; his death; charac- 
ter and ability ; his views of libertyo His opponents. 
98 



SYNOPSIS FOR REVIEW. 99 

III. — The Commonwealth. 

Cromwell. Change of government. The army in power. 
The Rump. Dunbar and Worcester. Charles II. a fugi- 
tive. War with Holland. Cromwell and Long Parliament. 
The Protector. Little Parliament. Cromwell's administia- 
tion ; abilities and career ; his place in history ; private char- 
acter. Richard Cromwell. 

The Restoration. 

IV. — The Stuarts Restored. 

Charles II. His accession. Public sentiment. Charles's 
prodigality. Dissatisfaction. Duke of York. Habeas Cor- 
pus. Plots. Character of court and nation. Distinguished 
men. Learned societies. 

James II. His character. Monmouth and Jeffries. 

The Revolution of 1688. 

William III. and Mary. The navy. Principles established. 
Passive obedience. Opposition to William III. His char- 
acter. The Bank of England. 

Progress of the century. Increase of wealth ; trade and com- 
merce ; glass ; newspapers ; art ; population. London. 

Anne. Her character. Marlborough. Anrie's reign. Party 
names. The Stuarts. 

LGFC. 



CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE 

OF ENGLISH AND LEADING CONTEMPORANEOUS SOVEREIGNS AND 
IMPORTANT EVENTS. 

Houses of Tudor and Stuart, 1485-1714. 



A.D. 

1400. 85. Henry VII. — Charles Vni., France, 83-98. 

Louis XIL, France. Freder- 
ick III., Germany, 93. Pope 
Alexander VI., 92. Ferdi- 
nand and Isabella, Spain, 74. 
Map of the world published at 
Nuremberg, 90. America dis- 
covered, 92. Diet at Worms, 95. 

1500. g. Henry VIII. — Francis I., France, 15. Charles 

v., Germany, 19-56. Popes, — 
Leo X., 21; Clement VII.; 
Paul III. Gustavus Vasa, 

Sweden, 28. St. Peter's Church 
begun, 13. Council of Trent, 45. 
Albert Durer. Loyola. Michael 
Angelo. Raphael. Cortez. 

47. Edward VI. — Henry II., France, husband of 

Catherine de Medici, 47-59. 
Orange-trees brought to Europe. 

53. Mary. —Philip II., Spain, 55-98. Pope 

Paul IV. 

58. Elizabeth.— Francis n, France, husband of 

Mary, Queen of Scots, 59. 
Charles IX. Henry IV. 
Popes Pius v., Gregory 
XIII., Clement VIII. James 
VI., Scotland, 67. Only two 
carriages in Paris. Republic of 
Holland, 79. Kepler. Decimals 
invented, 2. 
100 



CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE. lOl 

A.D. „ 

1600. 3. James I.— Louis XIII., France, 10-43. *^ope 

Paul V. Virginia settled, 7. 
New York, 14. Plymouth, 20. 
Maine, New Hampshire, 23. 
Logarithms, telescopes, and ther- 
mometers invented. 

25. Charles I.— Ferdinand II., Germany, 19-37- 

Pope Urban VII. Salem, 
Boston, and Rhode Island settled. 
Harvard College founded, 38. 
Conde. Turenne. 

49. The Common- 
wealth.— Louis XIV., France, 1643-1715- 
Leopold I., Germany. Pope 
Alexander VII. Air-pump 
invented. 400,000 people died of 
the plague at Naples in six 
months. Fenelon. 

60, Charles II.— Louis XIV. Pope Innocent 

XL Bombay taken by the Eng- 
lish. Steam-engine invented, 
63. Bees introduced into New 
England, 70. Mississippi dis- 
covered, 73. King Philip's 
war, 75. Great comet. William 
Penn. 
85. James II. — Louis XIV. Suppression of 

New-England charters. 

89. William and 

Mary. — Louis XIV. Pope Innocent 
XIL Charles XII., Sweden. 
Peter the Great, Russia, 
Salem witchcraft. Yale College 
founded (1700). Poland dismem- 
bered, 2. 

1700. 2. Anne. -Louis XIV. Pope Clement 

XI. St. Petersburg built, 3. St. 
Paul's rebuilt, 10. Ruins of 
Herculaneum discovered, 11. 



CHAPTER V. 

THE HOUSE OF BRUNSWICK (PART I.). 
1714 to 1837, — 123 years. 

George I. George III. William IV. 

George II. George IV. 

ON the death of Queen Anne (1714), George I., Elector 
of Hanover, succeeded to the crown, in the fifty-fifth 
Character of year of his age. He was the son of the Duke of 
George I. Bruuswick, Elector of Hanover, and, on his mother's 
side, was the great-grandson of James I. of England. Before 
he ascended the throne he had acquired some reputation as 
a politician and a general. He was plain in his manners, 
and not of elevated character or taste ; but he was a man of 
great application to business, and his reign was pacific and 
prosperous. Some faults in his government were attributed to 
a venal ministry ; and he was esteemed to the end of his life, 
in his views and conduct, much more the Elector of Hanover 
than the King of England. Sir Robert Walpole was George's 
principal adviser, and was one of the most eminent statesmen 
of his time. 

2. The two parties, which had long divided the kingdom, 
now, for a time, changed their titles : the Whigs being styled 
The Pre- Hanoveriaus ; and the Tories, Jacobites. The for- 
tender. mev, being strenuous advocates for the accession 

of George, received, in return, from him favor and support, and 
were restored to power. This circumstance alienated and 
enraged the Tories to such a degree, that many of them took 
part with the Pretender, son of James H., who was proclaimed 



1727.] THE HOUSE OF BRUNSWICK. 103 

king in Scotland, and made an effort to obtain the crown ; but 
the rebelHon was suppressed, and the leaders executed. 

3. A pacific reign like that of George I. furnishes few events 
of importance in history. One, however, of disastrous conse- 
quences, occurred, commonly called the " South-sea south-sea 
Bubble," — a wild scheme of speculation by the Bubble. 
South Company, who had the exclusive right to trade with the 
Spanish Colonies in America, and who bought up the govern- 
ment annuities, paying for them in its own stock. In this way it 
promised to pay off the national debt, and to loan the govern- 
ment money at a low rate of interest. It was a base imposture, 
giving a great shock to public credit, and involving thousands 
in ruin. 

4. The Septennial Act made the length of a parliament 
seven years, instead of three as before. One object septennial 
of this change was to avoid the excitement of fre- ■'^'=*- 
quent elections, and changes of parliament. 

5. During this reign Daniel Defoe wrote " Robinson Crusoe," 
Dean Swift gave to the world his " Gulliver's Trav- Literary 
els," Watts composed many of his sacred lyrics, celebrities, 
and Thomson published the first part of his poem called " The 
Seasons." 

King George died of apoplexy, in Germany, in 1727, leaving 
one son, who became his successor. 

6. George II., who succeeded his father (1727) in the 
forty-fourth year of his age, was an able general of great per- 
sonal courage, but was too fond of war, and de- 

^ ' ' Walpole. 

lighted in military parade. The most prominent 
person in the administration in the former part of the reign (as 
in the previous reign also) was Sir Robert Walpole, a man 
whose policy was pacific, and who was distinguished for his 
talents, and not less so for the system of corruption and venal- 
ity which he practised while in office. 

7. The military operations of this reign were extensive and 
numerous ; and the British arms were, for the most part, tri- 



I04 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. [1743. 

umphant. Charles VL, Emperor of Germany, who died in 1 740, 
was succeeded in his dominions by his daughter, the celebrated 
The Aus- Maria Theresa {Te-rc'-za/i), who was married to 
trian sue- Francis of Lorraine. But Charles, the Elector of 
Bavaria, asserted his claim to the throne, and, by 
the aid of Louis XV., was elected emperor. This gave rise 
to a war, which involved the principal states of Europe, called 
the war of the Austrian succession, during which the allies 
under George IL defeated the French in the battle of Dettin- 
gen (1743), and the French under Marshal Saxe routed the 
allies at Fontenoy (1745). Great Britain was the principal 
support of Maria Theresa ; and by the Peace of Aix-la-Chapelle 
{^Akes-lah-cha-pel) in 1 748 her claim to the throne was con- 
firmed. 

S. While George IL was absent on the Continent at the head 
of the British army, Charles Edward, the young Pretender, 
assisted by Louis XV. of France, made an effort to 
recover the throne of his ancestors. Having 
landed in Scotland, he put himself at the head of an army, and 
defeated the royal forces in the batdes of Preston-Pans and 
Falkirk, but was afterwards entirely defeated by the Duke of 
Cumberland in the decisive battle of Culloden (1746). This 
was the last battle that has been fought on the soil of Great 
Britain ; and it terminated the last effort of the Stuart family to 
re-ascend the throne, which had been forfeited by the most 
egregious folly and the most flagitious attempts. 

9. In the latter part of this reign the war between Great 
Britain and France, called the "Seven-Years' War," was re- 
newed, in which their American Colonies also took 

Seven- ' 

Years' War. part. In an expedition by the English and Ameri- 
Wash- ^^j^g against the French at Fort Duquesne iDu- 

ington. ° ^ ^ 

kdfie), now Pittsburg, Penn., George Washington, 
then a young officer in the Virginia militia, distinguished him- 
self in conducting the retreat of the forces after their com- 
mander, Gen. Braddock, had been slain. In the course of a 



1 7 59-] THE HOUSE OF BRUNSWICK. 105 

few years the English took Duquesne, Louisburg (on the Island 
of Cape Breton), Ticonderoga, Crown Point, Niagara; and 
finally, under the command of Gen. Wolfe, they gained pos- 
session (1759) of the city of Quebec. These successes were 
followed by the surrender of all Canada, on the part of the 
French, to the English, in 1763. 

10. Extensive conquests in India were made by the English 
during this period. In the time of EHzabeth a company was 
chartered for trade in the East Indies ; and by sub- East-india 
sequent renewals of its charter, and acts of Parlia- Company, 
ment, its business and operation became very extensive under 
the name of the " East-India Company." Its principal factories 
or trading-posts were at Bombay, Madras, and Calcutta. The 
French had similar stations in India, and were making vigorous 
efforts to monopolize the trade and control of the country. 

11. In 1 75 1, Robert Clive, a former clerk of the East-India 
Company, with a few soldiers, and by the aid of some of the 
friendly native princes, made a sudden attack upon 

Lord Clive. 

the French and their allies, and completely routed 
them, and secured to the British the country along the east 
coast called the Carnatic. A few years later, Clive, with three 
thousand men, met and defeated Surajah Dowlah, the Nabob 
of Bengal, with an army of sixty thousand men, and added that 
rich and populous province to British India. 

12. During the reign of George II. Great Britain made great 
progress in wealth and general improvement. The national 
debt, however, was more than doubled during the National 
reign ; and at the end of the Seven-Years' War, in ^^^*- 

1 763, it amounted to nearly a hundred and thirty-nine million 
pounds. This debt was commenced during the reign of William 
and Mary, and at the end of the reign of George III. it 
amounted to upwards of eight hundred million pounds. 

13. George's temper was violent, his talents respectable, 
though little cultivated by education, and his internal ad- 
ministration generally equitable and popular; but his private 



lo6 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. [1760. 

character was licentious, and the morals of the court during 
George's his reign were very corrupt. His partialities in 
character. favor of his Continental dominions are represented 
as still stronger than those of his father, and he has been cen- 
sured for involving Great Britain in expensive wars on account 
of the interests of the electorate of Hanover. He died sud- 
denly in 1760 at the age of seventy-seven, after a reign of 
thirty-three years. 

The distinguished musical composer Handel, a native of 
Germany, though long a resident in England, died 

Handel. . . 

m London m 1759. 

14. George III., grandson and successor of George H., 
was the first king of the house of Brunswick that was born in 
State of the England. He commenced his reign (1760) at an 
country. auspicious period, when the arms of Great Britain 
were triumphant, and the administration able and popular. 
The war with France was, not long afterwards, brought to a 
close ; and, by the Peace of Paris, Canada, and other territories 
in North America, were confirmed to England. 

15. William Pitt (afterwards Lord Chatham) was at the head 
of the administration during the last years of the preceding 
William reign ; and in the former part of this he was the 
^*"- most prominent public man in the nation. At this 
period oppressive measures were adopted by the British Govern- 
n««r«e.;«„ ment with rerard to the American Colonies. These 

Oppression o 

of American Chatham opposcd with his powerful eloquence ; but 
o onies. ^1^^^ ^QXQ persisted in by the king and Parliament. 
The Colonies were taxed, but had no representation in Parlia- 
ment ; and a law called the ^' Stamp Act," requiring a stamp, 
purchased of the government, to be affixed to every legal docu- 
ment in the Colonies, was passed by Parhament in 1765. The 
British Government found great difficulty in enforcing this act, 
and other measures obnoxious to the Americans were stoutly 
resisted by them. 

16. In 1775 hostihties commenced, and a very stubborn spirit 



1783.] THE HOUSE OF BRUNSWICK. 1 07 

of resistance was everywhere manifested by the Colonies. In 
the following year a declaration of the independence r^^^ Ameri- 
of the United States was made ; and, after a war of can Revoiu- 
seven years, their independence was finally acknowl- 
edged by Great Britain by a treaty signed at Paris in Septem- 
ber, 1783. 

17. The East-India Company had now become a powerful 
political organization for English supremacy in the East ; and 
by it vast acquisitions of territory were made, and warren 
great injustice and robbery were practised upon the Hastings, 
natives. Warren Hastings, Governor-General of British India, 
was impeached for misdemeanors ; but he was finally acquitted 
after one of the most famous trials on record, occupying alto- 
gether a hundred and forty-eight days, though not completed 
until seven years from its commencement. 

18. In the latter part of the century there was much discon- 
tent in Ireland, occasioned principally by a party who wished to 
sever their connection with England. An insurrec- union of 
tion occurred, in which two hundred and fifty thou- England and 
sand people took part ; but it was soon suppressed, 

and in 1800 Great Britain and Ireland were united under one 
Pariiament, and took the name of " The United Kingdom of 
Great Britain and Ireland." 

ig. In 1789 the French Revolution broke out, convulsing all 
Europe , and it was thought to threaten the overthrow of all 
established government. The government of Great General Eu- 
Britain, alarmed respecting its own safety, embarked ""^p^^" ^^'■• 
zealously in the European war with a view to check the dis- 
semination of democratic principles both at home and abroad. 
The system of operations was devised and managed under the 
direction of William Pitt, the son of Lord Chatham, who was 
now at the head of the administration. This calamitous war 
continued to convulse the Continent for a quarter of a century ; 
and, during a part of the time. Great Britain alone had all Eu- 
rope arrayed against her. But, after various alternations of failure 



Io8 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. [1815. 

and success, she came off victorious, yet not without an immense 
loss of the blood of her subjects, and a vast increase of her 
national debt. Some of the principal victories which the Brit- 
ish obtained during this war were those of the Nile and of 
Trafalgar by Nelson, and those of Talavera, Salamanca, Vittoria, 
and Waterloo (June 18, 18 15), by Wellington. 

20. The battle of Waterloo was one of the most important 
in its consequences in modern times. It put an end to the am- 
waterioo bitious Career of Napoleon, who had been a disturb- 
and Napo- ing element in European affairs for many years, 
^''°"* gave to England the first position among the great 
powers of Europe, and inaugurated a better policy for the 
progress of civilization. 

21. In 181 2 the United States declared war against Great 
Britain. English men-of-war had repeatedly searched Ameri- 
•Warwith ^^"^ ships, and impressed English sailors found 
the United thercon. The United States denied the right of 

tates. British authorities to make such search, and hostili- 

ties ensued. The war was carried on principally upon the 
water, where many naval actions took place. A few engage- 
ments upon land occurred along the Canadian frontier and in 
the vicinity of Chesapeake Bay ; and at New Orleans, Jan. 8, 
1815, the last battle was fought, in which the Americans, under 
Gen. Andrew Jackson, gained a decisive victory over the British. 
A treaty of peace was signed at Ghent Dec. 24, 18 14, before 
the battle of New Orleans, although at that time no news of 
such a treaty had reached America. In that treaty no mention 
was made of the question of the right of search, which had 
occasioned the war. 

22. The reign of George III., who died in 1820, was longer 
than that of any other English monarch ; and it forms a dis- 
Character of tinguishcd period in the history of the kingdom, on 
George iii.'s accouut of its military events, and the progress of 
'^^'^"' the nation in commerce, wealth, and the arts. Dur- 
ing the last ten years of his Hfe he was afflicted with insanity to 



i820.] THE HOUSE OF BRUNSWICK. 109 

such a degree as entirely disqualified him for all business, and 
the Prince of Wales acted as regent. His talents were not 
brilliant, nor were his views as a statesman enlarged ; but his 
private character was exemplary, and he was much respected 
by his subjects. 

23. A large number of distinguished persons lived during 
this reign. There were the eminent statesmen Burke, Fox, 
Sheridan, the elder and the younger Pitt, Curran, celebrated 
and Grattan ; the distinguished commanders Nelson persons, 
and Wellington ; and, in the literary world. Goldsmith, Burns, 
Byron, Scott, Cowper, Coleridge, Gray, Gibbon, Hume, and 
others. 

24. During the period of a hundred and twenty years, be- 
tween the beginning of the eighteenth century and the close of 
the reign of George HI. (in 1820), very considera- Progress 
ble progress was made by the government and people '"^'^e. 

of Great Britain. Gradually the power of the sovereign had 
come to be administered through his counsellors or ministry, 
rather than by himself personally. Trade and commerce were 
extended in all directions, and the importation of foreign com- 
modities added much to the wealth of the nation and to the 
comforts of the people. 

25. In manufactures great advance was made in earthenware 
and porcelain, cutlery and hardware, and the various other arti- 
cles of iron and steel ; and the invention of the Manufac- 
spinning-jenny and other machinery, and the use tures and 

of steam, gave an impulse to the production of silk, ^^^^^^ ^"""^ 
woollen, and cotton fabrics. The first passenger steamboat in 
Great Britain, called "The Comet," made its appearance upon 
the Clyde in 181 2. Agriculture receiv^ed more attention, and 
was improved ; the potato was introduced and cultivated ; and 
tea, coffee, rice, and tobacco became articles of large importa- 
tion. 

26. The introduction of many articles from China, Japan, 
and India, the use of mahogany and other ornamental woods, 



no HISTORY OF ENGLAND. [i32o. 

and the improved quality of some kinds of household furniture, 
Articles of such as chairs, tables; bedsteads, and cabinets, gave 
comfort. i^Q ^1-je dwellings of all classes a better furnishing 

and adornment. Carpets were manufactured and used, to some 
extent, during the last half of the century. 

27. The fine arts were not neglected. The Royal Academy 

of Art was founded in 1768; and the names of 

Kneller, West, Hogarth, and Reynolds, the founder 

of the English school of painting, are classic names in art. 

Much proi^ress was also made in music in its various 

Music. 

departments, and especially in sacred music. Many 
of the productions of that period are still in use. The oratorio 
was first brought out in London by Handel in 1720. 

28. The state of society can hardly be spoken of in terms 
of praise. The principles of religion and morals had but little 
State of influence upon the people. The men were much 
society. given to dissipation and gambling ; and the women, 
generally very ignorant, were addicted to frivolity and gossip. 
The principal amusements of the different classes were hunting, 
fishing, music, dancing, dice, cards, puppet-shows, football, fairs, 
and tl^e frequenting of watering-places. The man of fashion is 
described as dressed in a cocked hat, powdered wig, and gold- 
laced scarlet coat ; while the lady, with powdered hair, was 
attired in flowered brocades and immense hoops. 

29. But there was an improvement in society during the 
latter part of this period. The education and the morals of the 
Education better classes received more attention. Literary 
and morals, clubs were formed ; periodical literature became 
quite common ; bitterness of feeling towards the Catholics was 
lessened ; and Sunday schools were established by Robert 
Raikes in 1781. It was during this period, also, that Method- 
ism had its origin by the preaching of Wesley and Whitefield. 

30. George IV., who succeeded his father in 1820, was a 
man of talents and accomplishments : but his life, during both 
his youth and his manhood,- had been marked by great prodi- 



1827.] THE HOUSE OF BRUNSWICK. ill 

gality and dissipation ; and there was little in his character or 
his conduct, while a sovereign, to entitle him to character of 
the affection or respect of his subjects. While a George iv. 
prince, and not in power, he connected himself with the oppo- 
sition, or Whigs ; but, both as regent and king, he adhered to 
the Tories, to the neglect of his former friends. 

31. Soon after the accession of George IV. a bill for divor- 
cing and degrading the queen, Caroline, on charges Queen 

of misconduct, was introduced into* the House of Caroline. 
Lords, and, after being carried by a vote of a hundred and 
eight to ninety-nine, was abandoned ; and the queen soon after 
died. 

32. The Greeks having for some years maintained a sangui- 
nary struggle for independence against the Turks, an interpo- 
sition in their favor was made by England, France, Greek 

and Russia; and the united fleets of these three affairs, 
powers obtained, in 1827, a great victory over the Turkish and 
Egyptian fleets in the Bay of Navarino (see map, p. 115). 

33. In 1828 the Corporation and Test Act, which had long 
operated to exclude Catholics and Dissenters from all corporate 
oflices, was repealed ; and it was followed (in 1829) Relief of 

by the still more important measure of Catholic Catholics, 
emancipation. By this act the laws imposing civil disabilities 
on Roman Catholics were repealed ; and Daniel O'Connell, 
the Irish agitator, took his seat in the House of Commons. In 
addition to these great national measures many other important 
alterations and improvements were made in the laws of Great 
Britain during the reign of George IV. The penal code was 
improved by rendering punishment more certain, and much less 
sanguinary. 

34. George IV. was succeeded (in 1830) by his brother, the 
Duke of Clarence, with the title of William IV. In about 
a month after his accession a revolution took place wiiiiam iv. 
in France, which caused the dethronement of ^"^ reform. 
Charles X. A wide-spread feeling of uneasiness and disaftec- 



1 1 2 HIS TOR V OF ENGLAND. [ 1 83 1 . 

tion was felt in England, and the country was alarmed by 
numerous incendiary fires. For many years the subject of a 
reform of the representation of the people in the House of 
Commons had been much agitated, and it was now more loudly 
called for than ever before. On the meeting of the new 
Parliament, the Duke of Wellington, the prime-minister, un- 
expectedly expressed himself strongly against any reform ; but 
the duke and his colleagues, not finding themselves supported 
by a majority of the House of Commons, resigned, and were 
succeeded by a Whig ministry, with Earl Grey at the head. 

35. On the ist of March, 1831, Lord John Russell, as the 
Reforms Organ of the cabinet, brought into Parliament the 
secured. f^j-gj- reform bill ; but this bill, and also a second 
one, the ministry failed to carry through both Houses. But a 
third bill was, after a violent struggle, carried, and enacted into 
a law, in June, 1832. This important measure, which renders 
the House of Commons a body much more effectually repre- 
senting the people, occupied the greater part of the first two 
years of the reign of William, to the exclusion of almost all 
other measures. The first Parliament elected under the new 
system assembled in January, 1833 ; and the reform of the 
representation was soon followed by the reform of the Irish 
Church, and the abolition of slavery in the British West Indies. 
William Wilberforce was the foremost champion of this last- 
named measure, by which eight hundred thousand slaves were 
set free, and twenty million pounds were paid to their owners 
as compensation. A reform in the poor-laws was also brought 
about, and the charter of the East- India Company was renewed 
with important modifications. 

36. William IV. had been a sailor in his youth, and had the 
Character of free and easy manners of that class. He was a 
William IV. hearty friend of reform, ruled with justice, and was 
beloved by his people. His death occurred, at the age of 
seventy-two, in 1837. 



CHAPTER VI. 

THE HOUSE OF BRUNSWICK (PART II.). 

From 1837 to the present time. 

Victoria. 

VICTORIA, who came to the throne in 1837 at the age 
of eighteen years, was the daughter of the Duke of Kent, 
and a niece of the late king, WilHam IV. She had Auspicious 
been carefully educated, was of pleasing manners, beginning, 
and of great amiability, and firmness of character. Her acces- 
sion was the occasion of much rejoicing among her people, and 
gave promise of an auspicious reign ; which subsequent events 
have fulfilled. In 1840 she married her cousin, Prince Albert 
of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. 

2. The little kingdom of Hanover in Germany, since the 
time of George I., had been an appendage to England, and 
was under the same sovereign, though with an in- ^^^^^ ^-^^^ 
dependent administration ; but, as the law of sue- Hanover 
cession in Hanover does not allow females to occupy 

the throne, the union with Great Britain was dissolved upon 
the accession of Victoria, and this state became once more 
independent. 

3. The youthful queen did not find her kingdom entirely 
peaceful and harmonious. In some of the colonies there was 
much dissatisfaction with the government ; and at sources of 
home great discontent prevailed among the labor- discontent, 
ing classes on account of low wages, want of employment, and 
the high price of provisions. In the manufacturing districts 

ii3 



114 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. [1838. 

strikes were common among the operatives, and at one time 
fifty thousand people in Scotland were out of employment on 
that account ; but the arrest of some of the ringleaders, who 
were intimidating new laborers, soon restored quiet and a re- 
newal of business. 

4. In 1838 a class of agitators for reform, called " Chartists," 
began to occupy a large share of public attention. In a docu- 
ment called by them the people's charter their 
principles were set forth under six heads: i. Uni- 
versal suffrage ; 2. Vote by ballot ; 3. Paid representatives in 
Parliament; 4. Equal electoral districts; 5. The abolition of 
the property qualification ; and, 6. Annual parliaments. These 
subjects were widely discussed at mass meetings numerously 
attended ; and in 1839 the charter, signed by a large number of 
people, was presented to Parliament. Its refusal by that body 
led to some scenes of riot and violence ; but the government 
soon restored order. 

5. Chartism was apparently thrust aside for several years by 
the Anti-Corn-Law League, — an organization formed in 1838 

for the repeal of all duties on breadstuffs. Richard 
Cobden and John Bright, two of England's ablest 
statesmen, were zealous advocates for this measure ; and after 
much agitation the repeal was passed in 1846, and carried fully 
into effect in 1849. The navigation laws passed in the time 
of Cromwell, and which were now considered a restriction upon 
trade, were repealed the same year. 

6. Upon the occurrence of a revolution in France in 1848, 
chartism was revived for a time in Great Britain, and many 
Chartism re- threatening demonstrations were made throughout 
vived. ^Q country. These were successfully quelled by 
the government ; and, after the presentation in Parliament of a 
monster petition in favor of the people's charter, the movement 
seemed to lose its organization, and soon passed from public 
notice. 

7. In 1841, under the leadership of Daniel O'Connell, the sub- 



1841.] THE HOUSE OF BRUNSWICK. II5 

ject of a repeal of the union between Ireland and Great Britain 
was extensively agitated. Mass meetings were held separation 
throughout Ireland, inflammatory speeches were of Ireland 
made, and great excitement prevailed. The gov- ^"^"^p*^ 
ernment finally took measures to prevent the riotous assembling 
of the people. O'Connell and some of his followers were tried, 
and convicted of conspiracy and sedition ; but, the judgment 
being reversed by the House of Lords, they were subsequently 
quelled by the authorities ; and the leaders were transported 
for life, some of whom afterwards escaped to the United States. 

8. One of the most beneficent influences upon social and 
domestic life at this time was the result of an extensive tem- 
perance reformation, which began in Ireland in Temperance 
1 84 1 under the direction of Father Mathew, an reform. 

'Irish priest. Its effect in relieving poverty and diminishing 
crime was most salutary. Numerous temperance societies 
named from Father Mathew were organized, and the movement 
extended to other countries. 

9. In 1843 more than a third of all the ministers of the 
Established Church of Scotland seceded, in order to free them- 
selves from the interference of the civil courts in Scottish Free 
ecclesiastical matters. This movement caused Church, 
much excitement, and resulted in the formation of what has 
since been known as the Free Church of Scotland. 

10. Ireland experienced one of the most terrible famines in 
modern times in consequence of the failure of the potato-crop 
in that country in 1846-47. Most shocking scenes Famine in 
of suffering and death by starvation were witnessed Ireland. 

on all sides. The government generously ministered to the 
relief of the suffering ; and a national vessel was sent from the 
United States, laden with supplies purchased by private contri- 
bution. 

11. A most notable event occurred in London in 1851, 
known as " The World's Fair," or exhibition of the industry of 
all nations. It took place in a mammoth building called " The 



n6 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. [1861. 

Crystal Palace," constructed mostly of iron and glass, and was 
World's participated in by nations in all parts of the globe, 

fair. 'pj-^jg project Originated with the prince-consort ; 

and its influence upon the social and industrial interests of the 
world was so apparent, that it has since been imitated, with some 
improvements, by several countries. 

12. Prince Albert, the husband of the queen, died in Decem- 
Deathof ^^^' 1 86 1, much lamented. He was a man of 
Prince refined tastes, a friend of progress, and a benefactor 
Albert. ^^ ^l^^ ^oQx and to all charitable institutions. To 
the queen he was a wise and judicious counsellor, and was 
greatly beloved by the people. 

13. Several wars have taken place in the British Colonies 
and with foreign nations during the reign of the present sov- 
Canadian ereign, and there have also been some important 
rebellion. changes and events in colonial administration. 
Upper and Lower Canada had for some time been in a dis- 
turbed state ; and in 1837 an insurrection broke out, which was 
put down after great alarm and some bloodshed. In 1840 the 
two provinces were united under a constitutional government. 

14. The Afghan war was between 1838 and 1842. England 
undertook to support the Afghans against Persia, and finally to 

place on their throne a prince of a former reigning 

Afghan war. , ... , . ,,_,., 

house, to maintain whose authority a small Lnglish 
force was left in Cabul. Violent opposition to the new rule 
sprang up. These troops, seeing their danger, attempted to 
cut their way to Jelalabad, and were nearly destroyed. A fresh 
English force, in turn, destroyed Cabul ; but Afghanistan was 
abandoned. During this war, Scinde, a rich territory around the 
lower waters of the Indus, was annexed to British India by Sir 
Conquests Charlcs Napier. The Sikhs, living in the district 
in India. called the Punjab, north of Scinde, invaded the Brit- 
ish territories in 1845 ; and a war followed, which ended in the 
annexation of their country also to the British domain. These 
conquests secured to British India the whole peninsula of Hin- 



i852.] 



THE HOUSE OF BRUNSWICK. 



117 



dostan. In 1852 a war with Birmah resulted in the acquisition 
of Puge; and in 1856 the kingdom of Oude, long under 
British protection, was formally annexed, on the ground of 
extreme misgovernment. 




MAP OF INDIA. 



15. The English army in India is largely composed of sepoys, 
or native soldiers. Early in 1857 there were signs of a muti- 
nous spirit in the Bengal division, which was by far sepoy 
the largest, and contained many high-caste sepoys, rebellion. 
The government had resolved to arm the troops with Enfield 



Il8 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. [1857. 

rifles, in the use of which greased cartridges were employed. 
A belief spread among the native troops that this was an 
attempt to make them give up their religion by compelling 
them to bite the fat of swine and cows : the use of the former 
being defilement to the Mohammedan ; and of the latter, sacri- 
lege to the Hindoo. Although the old cartridges were still 
used, the greatest excitement prevailed, and the discontent 
spread like wildfire. 

16. The first outbreaks were quelled ; but in May several 
regiments mutinied at Meerut, killed their English officers, and 

marched to Delhi, where the garrison joined them. 
Cawnpore, The Europcaus were massacred, and Delhi became 
and Luck- ^j-^g rally ing-poiut of the rebellion. Several thou- 
sand sepoys also revolted at Cawnpore, and placed 
themselves under the Nana-Sahib. Few native regiments could 
be trusted ; and the European troops were too few to check 
the mutiny, which now spread with frightful rapidity. The 
scenes at Delhi were repeated at Benares, Allahabad, Futteh- 
poor, and all over Oude, where many Bengal sepoys had been 
recruited. The rebels gradually gathered around Lucknow, 
and began to besiege the Europeans there about July i. 

17. The first movements of the English were against Delhi. 
The memorable siege of this city lasted from June till Septem- 
Memorabie bcr, and it was taken only after the most desperate 
sieges. fighting within as well as without the walls. Mean- 
time Gen. Havelock moved with a small force from Allahabad 
towards Cawnpore, where a few English were besieged by the 
Nana-Sahib, who, on the approach of Havelock, murdered 
them all with horrible atrocities. He, after defeating the Nana 
in several battles, marched to relieve Lucknow, where a garrison 
of less than a thousand was holding out against ten thousand 
rebels. He fought his way into the city with dreadful loss, and 
staid with the besieged until November, when Sir Colin Camp- 
bell relieved them, and withdrew his troops to Cawnpore, which, 
after a great battle with the Nana-Sahib, was made a centre of 



[859-] 



THE HOUSE OF BRUNSWICK. 



119 



operations against Oude. Troops had now arrived from Eng- 
land, and the rebels were followed up with great vigor. Early 
in 1859 the revolt was at an end. The horrible outrages on 
men, women, and children, and the relentless punishment of 
their perpetrators, have no parallel in modern history. One of 
the most important results of the mutiny was the transfer by 
Parliament of the government of India from the East-India 
Company to the British Queen, the company remaining simply 
a commercial corporation. 




SKETCH MAP 

F 

O EASTERN CHINA 

AND VICINITY. 



MAP OF CHINA. 



18. The principal military operations of the British with 
China, in the present reign, have originated mainly in commer- 
cial difficulties. The importation of opium was war with 
forbidden by the Chinese Government ; but English ^^'"^• 
merchants smuggled the drug over the frontier. Its seizure led 
to a war, by which China was compelled (1842) to cede Hong 



I20 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. [1857. 

Kong, and pay twenty-one million dollars to Great Britain, and 
to open five seaports to British commerce. In 1857 the 
Chinese were charged with having broken their treaties ; but it 
was not until the sepoy rebellion in India was quelled, that, 
some massacres having occurred in Chinese waters, France and 
England formed an alliance against the aggressors. They 
captured Canton, and negotiations were begun; but in 1859 
the war was renewed. The allies were at first repulsed on the 
Pei Ho River ; but the next year the forts and Tien-tsin were 
taken ; and the Chinese, being defeated near Pekin, came to 
terms, and this inglorious war was ended by a commercial 
treaty. 

19. Since the time of Napoleon, a compact has existed 
among the five great powers of Europe — England, France, 
The balance Prussia, Russia, and Austria — to preserve what is 
of power. called the balance of power ; that is, ostensibly to 
protect the smaller states against the encroachments of the 
larger ones, and to prevent any one state or sovereign from 
exercising an undue influence in the affairs of other states. In 
pursuance of this policy, England has twice, during the present 
reign, been drawn into collision with the Eastern powers. 

20. In 1840 Mehemet-Ali {Mdhemef Ah'k), Pacha or Vice- 
roy of Egypt, revolted against the Turkish Government, and also 
Rebellion in attempted, with some success, to get possession of 
Egypt. Syria. France remained neutral upon the subject, 
but was suspected of sympathizing with Mehemet, either for 
the purpose of placing him upon the Turkish throne, to which 
Abdul-Medjid had just succeeded at the age of seventeen 
years, or to lessen Turkish influence by making Egypt and 
Syria an independent kingdom. The other allies interfered. 
A fleet, under the command of Sir Charles Napier, soon cap- 
tured Acre, the key of Syria, and Beyroot, and then made its 
appearance in the harbor of Alexandria. A treaty soon followed 
with Mehemet, making the viceroyalty of Egypt hereditary in 
his family; since which Egypt has been, in all respects except 
the name, an independent state. 



1853- 



THE HOUSE OF BRUNSWICK. 



131 



21. The other interference in the affairs of the Eastern 
powers was in the Crimean war, which began in 1853. Russia 
had demanded to be named protector of the Greek The Crimean 
Christians in the Turkish Empire. By the advice ^^'^• 
of England and France, this demand was refused ; and the 




TO ILLUSTRATE CRIMEAN WAR. GREECE IN 1827, AND THE ALLIED FLEET AT 
ALEXANDRIA IN 184O. 

Czar at once occupied the Danubian principahties where these 
Christians lived. The Russians, failing to take Silistria, were 
defeated on the Danube, and withdrew from Turkish terri- 
tory. Meantime the allied fleets blockaded the Russian fleet 
in the harbor of Sebastopol, in the Crimea ; and the reduction 



122 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. [1855. 

of this strongly-fortified city became the main purpose of the 
alHes, whom Sardinia now joined. In the course of this siege 
were fought the battles of the x\lma, of Balaklava (where the 
"six hundred" made their famous charge), of Inkerman, and 
of the Tchernaya ; and furious assaults were made on the 
Russian- works, especially upon the battery of the Malakoff, 
which was captured by the French, and that of the Redan, 
upon which an attempt of the English failed. After sustaining 
a siege of eleven months, Sebastopol was evacuated Sept. 9, 
1855 ; and a treaty of peace was signed in the following year. 

22. England undertook some naval operations against Russia 
in the Baltic Sea, but with very small results. The losses to all 
Florence parties in this war were immense. The allies 
Nightingale, suffered terribly from disease ; and it was by her 
efforts to improve the hospital service, and relieve the wants of 
the soldiers in the Crimea, that the name of Florence Nightin- 
gale became so memorable. She visited hospital and camp, 
and, like an angel of mercy, everywhere ministered to the sick, 
the wounded, and dying; one poor soldier remarking, that, 
owing to the large numbers in the hospital, all could not be 
spoken to or receive a recognition by her ; " yet," said he, " we 
could kiss her shadow as it fell, and lay our heads on our pillows 
content." 

23. The discovery of rich gold mines, also of deposits of 
iron, copper, and coal, in New South Wales and Victoria, in 

1850, formed an era in the history of the Australian 

Australia. , . -r ., , • • i 

colonies. Liberal constitutions were granted to 
them at about the same time, since which they have enjoyed a 
rapid and prosperous growth. The agricultural and mineral 
resources of the country have been extensively developed, and 
a large population now finds occupation and support in this 
distant portion of the British Empire. 

24. Among the public enactments and leading measures of 
Victoria's reign, there are some which reflect great credit upon 
the government and the leading statesmen by whom they 



1858.] THE HOUSE OF BRUNSWICK. 123 

were initiated and carried out. In 1840 the penny-postage 
bill was passed, reducing the rates on letters, which penny 
had previously been very high, to one penny for postage, 
all distances, and estabhshing also the money-order system. 
This measure was at once felt to be a public convenience in 
business and social life, and a relief from a heavy tax on corre- 
spondence. 

25. In 1858 an act was passed modifying the oath required 
of members of Parliament, so as to make Jews Jewish dis- 
eligible to that body. A few years later the elec- abilities, 
tive franchise was greatly extended in \A'ales, Ire- " ^^^^' 
land, and Scotland, thereby giving to the people greater power 
and influence. 

26. By the Irish land bill, the peasants of Ireland can 
acquire an interest in the soil which they cultivate and in its 
improvement, and a prospective ownership of the irish land 
same. This measure has already conferred sub- ^*"- 
stantial benefit upon the country, having lessened political ex- 
citement, checked emigration, imi)roved agriculture, and in- 
creased the demand for labor with a greater remuneration. 

27. A long-standing source of discontent among the Catholic 
population of Ireland was the tax which they were compelled 
to pay for the support of the Established Church Disestabiish- 
of Great Britain. In 1868 Mr. (Gladstone intro- ment of the 
duced a bill into Parliament to disestablish the Irish ^"'^ Church. 
Church, and to make the support of religion among all sects a 
voluntary matter. This bill met with violent opposition, but 
was passed, and went into operation in 1870. It was an act 
eminently wise, and does tardy justice to an oppressed people, 
who for centuries have been compelled to support a church 
with which they had no sympathy. 

28. Another measure of great importance was the education 
bill of 1870, establishing a system of public schools, Education 
which are fast bringing the elements of an English '^'"• 
educatiqn >yithin reach of every child in England. Extraor- 



124 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. [1872. 

dinary activity has been displayed in the erection of school- 
houses, the organization of schools, and in aiding the lower 
classes, so that poverty shall be no bar to a common-school 
education. Already there is a diminution of that class of 
crimes common among ignorant people, and educated labor is 
receiving a better reward. 

29. During the late civil war in the United States, American 
commerce suffered extensively from privateers built and fitted 
Alabama out in English ports. At the close of the war the 
claims. Unitcd-Statcs Government claimed of Great Britain 
damages for these depredations, on the ground that no efforts 
were made to prevent the privateers from leaving British ports. 
These claims were known as the Alabama claims, from the 
name of one of the privateers. After some negotiations at 
Washington between the two governments, the matter was re- 
ferred to a board of arbitration composed of representatives 
of five different nations ; viz., the United States, Great Britain, 
Italy, Brazil, and Switzerland. This board met at Geneva in 
1872, and awarded to the United States the sum of fifteen 
million dollars, which was promptly paid by the British Govern- 
ment. 

30. In 1875 the Prince of Wales made a visit to British 
Empress of India, where he was received with great enthusi- 
india. ^^-^^ ^ 7s.\\^, upoii his return, the Queen added to 
her former title that of Empress of India. 

31. The subject of United-States fisheries in British- Ameri- 
can waters became a matter of arbitration in 1877, at Halifax in 

Nova Scotia, before a board called the " Fish Corn- 
Fish award. , . ,, , - • i i 1 
mission, composed of one person appointed by the 

United States, one by Great Britain, and the Belgian minister at 

Washington. The question at issue was, whether the advantage 

accruing to the United States for taking fish in British-American 

waters was greater or less than the benefits derived by the 

British-American Colonies by having entry for their fish free of 

duty in United-States markets. The decision of the arbitrators 



1878.] THE HOUSE OF BRUNSWICK. 1 25 

was not unanimous ; but a majority adjudged that the United 
States must pay to Great Britain a balance of values of five 
million five hundred thousand dollars. Although this award 
was considered by the United States as excessive, Congress 
appropriated the money for its payment in June, 1878; and it 
was paid to the British Government in November following. 

32. In 1877-78 hostihties existed between Russia and Tur- 
key, originating principally in difficulties concerning the pro- 
tection of Greek Christians in the European provinces tributary 
to Turkey. This war was terminated by the Treaty of Berlin, 
July, 1878; but, a few weeks previous to that event, a de- 
fensive treaty was secretly made in 1878 between Great Britain 
and Turkey, by which the former power guarantees a con- 
ditional protectorate of certain Turkish provinces in 

Asia, and is allowed, in return, to occupy and ad- 
minister the Island of Cyprus, upon the annual payment to 
Turkey of the present excess of the revenue of the island over 
its expenditures. English occupation of Cyprus is to terminate, 
however, in case certain provinces recendy acquired by Russia 
are restored to Turkey. 

33. In the autumn of 1878 a Russian envoy arrived at 
Cabul, the capital of Afghanistan, and was kindly re- 

^ ° '' Afghan war. 

ceived by the ameer. Soon after, an embassy from 
British India arrived to inquire the purpose of such a step, 
and to guard British interests. This embassy was not allowed 
to enter the country. By order of the home government, armed 
forces were sent from India ; one division going by the Khyber 
Pass, who soon took and occupied Jelalabad and some other 
places. The ameer, Shere Ali, fled from the country, and died 
soon after, leaving affairs in the hands of his son, Yakoob 
Khan. This war met with opposition and censure in Parlia- 
ment, but was defended by the ministry as necessary for the 
safety of British interests. 

34. Various causes combined to produce considerable dis- 
tress in Great Britain in 1878-79. The manufacturing interests 



126 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. [1878. 

were much depressed, owing to over-production and the com- 
Business de- petition of Other nations. Numerous faikires oc- 
pression. curred, and many people were out of employment. 
There was also a deficiency in some of the crops. In October, 
1878, the City of Glasgow Bank failed disastrously on account 
of fraud by its directors. By this event a large number of per- 
sons lost their savings of many years, and their only means of 
subsistence. 

35. Many eminent statesmen have participated in public 
Eminent affairs during this reign. Brougham, Palmerston, 
statesmen. Russell, Peel, Derby, Gladstone, Disraeli, Cobden, 
Bright, and others, have contributed largely to the development 
and welfare of their country. 

36. During the last half-century the fruits of a ripening 
civilization have rapidly accumulated in almost every phase of 
General English life. In improved agriculture and manu- 
progressof facturcs in general, in architecture as seen in the 
the nation. i-^Qj^gg gf all classes, as well as in public buildings 
and bridges, in hospitals and asylums for the unfortunate and 
the poor, in modes of travel, in the use of the telegraph and 
the printing-press, and in literary institutions and the varied 
agencies for the diffusion of knowledge, the evidences of a 
most wonderful progress are everywhere seen ; while in the 
special manufacturing of cotton, woollen, and metallic goods, 
in the mining of coal, iron, copper, and tin, and in commerce 
and naval power, Great Britain stands in the front rank of 
nations. 

37. More than a thousand years have elapsed since Egbert 
united the little kingdoms of the heptarchy, and nowhere 
can the progress of civilization be more profitably studied than 
Importance ^^"^ tracing the events of English history from that 
of English period to the present. We here see the gradual 
history. ^.^^ ^^ ^ people from a low state of barbarism to the 
highest rank in national power, in the arts both of peace and 
war, in commercial wealth, and intellectual and moral greatness. 



I879-] 



THE HOUSE OF BRUNSWICK. 



127 



In England liberty has maintained frequent and bloody conflicts 
with tyranny. No nation can boast of more ardent patriots, of 
firmer and more enlightened friends to the rights and liberties 
of mankind, or men of higher excellence, or of greater intellect- 
ual endowments, than are presented to us in the eventful pages 
of English history. 

38. To the citizens of the United States the history of Eng- 
land is next in importance to that of their own country; for 
it is to a majority of them the history of their own j^^ igggons to 
ancestors, as it is also of the country from which Americans, 
have been derived in a great measure their language and litera- 
ture and their civil and religious institutions. 

39. The Great Britain of to-day exhibits many of the best 
characteristics of conservatism and of healthy progress. The 
extent of her political power, and her judicious prominence 
policy at home and abroad, equally challenge ad- of Great 
miration ; and whoever contemplates the vastness 

of her empire, including her numerous colonial possessions, will 
recognize truth as well as poetry in the assertion that " on the 
British Empire the sun never sets." 




PARLIAMENT HOUSE. 



THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT. 



The government of Great Britain is of that form usually known 
as a limited monarchy. The sovereign is hereditary; and, when 
there is no direct male heir, a female may succeed to the throne, 
and she takes the title of queen-regnant. The wife of a king is 
called queen-consort; the widow of a king, queen-dowager; and 
the mother of a sovereign upon the throne, queen-mother. 

The power of the sovereign is limited by constitutional restric- 
tions. While the crown can declare war, the action of Parliament 
is necessary to raise money and men to carry it on. But the sov- 
ereign has full power to assemble or to dismiss Parliament, coin 
money (though not to fix or change its value), to receive and send 
ambassadors, to grant pardons, to confer titles of nobility, to ap- 
point judges and magistrates, to issue and cancel commissions in 
the army and navy, to sign or veto acts passed by Parliament, 
and to nominate bishops, &c. 

The power of the sovereign is not exercised personally, but 
through a ministry composed of leading officials, the most impor- 
tant of whom are the following: The first Lord of the Treasury, 
called also Premier or Prime-Minister; Chancellor of the Exche- 
quer; Lord Chancellor, President of the Council; Lord Privy- 
Seal ; Home Secretary ; Foreign Secretary ; Secretary for the 
Colonies; Secretary of War; Secretary for India, First Lord of 
the Admiralty ; President of the Board of Trade ; and President 
of the Board of Works. 

The ministry is responsible for the acts of the government ; and 

hence the saying, that the king can do no wrong. The members 

of the ministry usually tender their resignations when any of their 

important measures fail to receive the support of the House oi 

128 



THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT. 129 

Commons. When a new ministry is to be formed, the sovereign 
appoints the premier, and he names his associates. Although the 
ministry has long been regarded as an important branch of the gov- 
ernment in the administration of public affairs, it exists as the 
result of custom only, never having been created, nor recognized 
by law ; and no official, record of its proceedings is kept. 

The legislative department of the government is called Parlia- 
ment, and is composed of two houses, — Lords and Commons. 

The House of Lords, or Peers, at present consists of nearly five 
hundred members, and is composed of English hereditary and 
titled peers, English archbishops and bishops, and Scotch and 
Irish peers elected by their own order. Peers, or lords, are often 
created by the sovereign for distinguished services, or merit. 

The House of Commons is elective, its members representing 
counties, cities, boroughs, and some of the universities. The 
present number of members is about six hundred and fifty. 

All bills for raising money, or which directly affect the people, 
must originate in the House of Commons. 

No Parliament can exist more than seven years ; and, whenever 
its dissolution takes place, a new one must be called within three 
years. 

Many of the colonies and other dependencies of the empire 
have parliaments of their own for the management of their loca\ 
affairs. 



THE BRITISH POSSESSIONS. 



The Empire of Great Britain is composed of a variety of states 
and dependencies in various parts of the world, as follows: — 

IN EUROPE. 

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, with the 
adjacent islands, including the Shetlands, Hebrides, Orkneys, Soil- 
lies, Man, and the Isle of Wight. 

The Channel Islands, near the coast of France, comprising Jer- 
sey, Guernsey, &c., having been a part of the dominions of William 
the Conqueror. 

Heligoland, a small island in the German Ocean, off the mouth 
of the Elbe River. Obtained from the Danes in 1807, 

The town and fortress of Gibraltar, on the south extremity of 
Spain. Captured in 1704. 

Malta, an island naval station south of Sicily, with Gozo, a small 
island adjacent (taken from the French in 1800), and Cyprus. 

IN ASIA. 

British India, including the peninsula of Hindostan, and several 
states east of the Bay of Bengal. 

The Island of Ceylon, south of Hindostan, taken from the Dutch 
in 1795; Malacca, on the Malayan peninsula; and the adjacent 
Islands of Singapore and Penang or Prince of Wales Island; 
Sarawak a small state on the north side of the Island of Borneo; 
and Labuan, a small island north of Borneo; Hong Kong, an 
island off Canton in China, obtained from the Chinese in 1843; 
and Aden, a commercial and naval station on the Gulf of Aden, 
in the south-westein part ot Arabia, obtained from Turkey in 1838. 
130 



THE BRITISH TOSSESSIONS. 131 

IN AFRICA. 

Cape Colony, obtained from the Dutch in 1806; Natal; Trans- 
vaal; Sierra Leone; Gambia; and the Gold-Coast settlements. 

Also the following islands adjacent to Africa, — Mauritius, or 
Isle of France, east of Madagascar ; the Seychelles and Amirante 
Islands, north of Mauritius ; St. Helena (obtained from the Dutch 
in 1654) and Ascension Islands, in the Atlantic Ocean, south lati- 
tude, west of Lower Guinea ; Lagos and several other small islands 
and settlements along the coast of Upper Guinea. 

IN AUSTRALIA, &c. 

Victoria, New South "Wales, Queensland, North Australia, 
West Australia, Alexandra Land and South Australia, and 
Tasmania and New-Zealand Islands. 

IN NORTH AMERICA. 

The Dominion of Canada, composed of the following prov- 
inces, — Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince 
Edward Island, Manitoba, British Columbia, including Vancouver 
Island and the North-west Territories. 

The Island of Newfoundland, and the Bermuda Islands east 
of South Carolina. 

IN THE WEST INDIES. 

Jamaica, Trinidad, Barbadoes, Grenada, Antigua, St. Lucia, 
Tobago, St. Vincent, St. Christopher, Dominica, Montserrat, 
Nevis, Barbuda, Anguilla, Turk's Island, the Virgin Islands, the 
Bahamas, and some other small islands. 

IN SOUTH AND CENTRAL AMERICA. 

British Guiana, Balize or British Honduras, in Yucatan, and 
the Falkland Islands. 

The Norfolk, Chatham, and Fiji Islands, and some others in 
the Pacific Ocean, belong to Great Britain. 

The combined area of the British Empire is estimated at more 
than eight and a half million square miles, and its population at 
two hundred and fifty million. 



SYNOPSIS FOR REVIEW. 

PART III. CONTINUED. CHAPTERS V.-VI. 
Pages 102-127. 
V. — The House of Brunswick. 

George I. His character and habits. Walpole. Parties. 
The Pretender. 

The South-sea Bubble. The Septennial Act. Literary celeb- 
rities. 

George II. Walpole. The war of the Austrian succession. 
Its battles. 

The Pretender. His movements Battles. -Culloden. 

The Seven-Years' War. Its mcidents. Washington. The 
East-India Company. Lord Clive. 

Progress. The national debt. 

George II.'s character. Distinguished composer. 

George III. State of the country. William Pitt. Oppres- 
sion of the American Colonies. The American Revolution. 

Warren Hastings. His career and trial. 

Union of England and Ireland. 

General European war. William Pitt, the younger. Noted 
battles. Waterloo and Napoleon. 

War with the United States. 

Character of George III.'s reign. 

Celebrated persons. Progress made. The government and 
the people. Trade ; manufactures and agriculture. Articles 
of comfort. The fine arts. Music; state of society; edu- 
cation and morals. 

George IV. His character. Queen Caroline. Greek affairs. 
Relief of Catholics. 

"William IV. Reform ; what attempted and what secured in 
Parliament. Slavery. The East-India Company. William 
IV.'s character. 

VI. — Victoria. 

Auspicious beginning. The queen's marriage. Union with 
Hanover dissolved. 
132 



SYNOPSIS FOR REVIEW. 1 33 

Sources of discontent Chartism. Corn-laws. Chartism 
revived. Irish separation attempted. 

Temperance reform. Scottish P>ee Church. Famine in Ire- 
land. The World's Fair. Death of Prince Albert. Cana- 
dian rebellion, Afghan war. Conquests in India. 

The Sepoy rebellion Delhi; Cawnpore and Lucknow; mem- 
orable sieges. Havelock. Nana-Sahib. The East-India 
Company, 

War with China. Free ports. Canton. Pekin. 

The balance of power. Rebellion in Egypt. Mehemet-Ali. 
Settlement of the troubles. Crimean war. Its causes; inci- 
dents ; battles. Florence Nightingale. 

Australia. 

Public Measures of Victoria's Reign. Penny postage. 
Relief of Jewish disabilities. Suffrage. Irish Land Bill. 
Disestablishment of the Irish Church. Education Bill. 
Alabama claims. Empress of India. Fish award. Cy- 
prus. Afghan war. Business depression. 

Eminent statesmen. General progress of the nation. 

Importance of English history. Its lessons to Americana. 

Prominence of Great Britain. 



CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE 



OF ENGLISH AND LEADING CONTEMPORANEOUS SOVEREIGNS AND 
IMPORTANT EVENTS. 



House of Brunswick. 1714 to the present time. 



A.D. 

1700. 14. George I.— Louis XV., France, 15-74. Charles 

VI., Germany, father of Maria There- 
sa. Popes Clement XI. and Ben- 
edict XIII. First post-oiifice in 
America at New York, 10. New Or- 
leans founded, 17. Great earthquake 
at Palermo, 26. 

27. George II. —Louis XV., France. Pope Bene- 
dict XIV. Frederick the Great, 

Prussia. Baltimore founded, 29. Bal- 
loons invented. Vermont and Georgia 
settled. Washington born, 32. New 
Style introduced in England, 52. Earth- 
quake at Lisbon, 55. Braddock's de- 
feat; capture of Louisburg and Que- 
bec. Hogarth, Joshua Reynolds, Ben- 
jamin West, Wesley, Hume, Newton. 

60. George III. — Louis X v. and XVI, Napoleon, of 
France. Popes Clement XIV., 
Pius VI. and VII. Frederick the 
Great. Frederick 'William III., 
Prussia, 86. Alexander I., Russia. 
Wellington. Brown University found- 
ed, 64. American Revolution. Sand- 
wich Islands discovered, 78. First 
census in the United States, 90. 
French Revolution. First locomotive, 
134 



ENGLISH SOVEREIGNS. 1 35 

A.D. 

1800. 4. Fulton's steamboat, 7. War be- 

tween England and the United States. 
General war in Europe. Waterloo. 
Napoleon at St. Helena. Johnson, 
Goldsmith, Burns. 

20. George IV.— Louis XVIII. and Charles X., France. 
Pope Leo XII. Missouri Compro- 
mise in the United States. War be- 
tween Greece and Turkey. 

30. William IV. — Louis Philippe, France. Pope Greg- 
ory XVI. Revolution in France. 
Goethe and Lafayette died. Slavery 
abolished in the British Colonies, 34. 

37. Victoria. — Louis Philippe, Louis Napoleon, 

France. Popes Gregory XVI., 
Pius IX., 46; and Leo XIII., 78. 
Guizot. Nicholas, 25; Alexander 
II., Russia, 55. "William, Germany, 
71. Electric telegraph invented, 44. 
Thomas Arnold. War between Mexi- 
co and the United States, 46-48. 
French Republic, 48 ; the Empire, 52. 
Revolutions in Austria, Prussia, and 
Hungary, 48, &c. First Atlantic cable 
laid, 58 ; second cable successful, 66. 
War between France, Sardinia, and 
Austria, 59; between Prussia, Italy, 
and Austria, 66. Cavour. Emanci- 
pation of serfs in Russia, 61. Civil 
war in the United Slates, 61-65. 
Proclamation of Emancipation, 63. 
War between Germany and France, 70. 
France a Republic, 71. Bismarck. 
Telephone invented, 76. War between 
Russia and Turkey, 77. Humboldt, 
Agassiz, Thiers. 



GENEALOGY OF THE ENGLISH 
SOVEREIGNS. 



■ sons of Ethelwolf. 



SAXON LINE. 

Egbert, son of Alchmund, Prince of Wessex. 

Ethelwolf, son of Egbert. 

Ethelbald, 

Ethelbert, 

Ethelred I., 

Alfred, 

Edward the Elder, son of Alfred. 

Athelstan, 

Edmund I., \ sons of Edward the Elder. 

Edred, ) 

Edwy, 

Edgar, S 

Edward, 



^^1 

sons of Edmund I. 



1-1^1- 1 J TT I sons of Edgar. 
Ethelred II., ) ^ 

Edmund II., Ironside, son of Ethelred IT. 

Canute (Danish), son of Sweyn, who was declared King of England, but 

was never crowned. 
Harold I. (Danish), son of Canute. 
Canute II., or Hardicanute (Danish), son of Canute. 
Edward the Confessor (Saxon), son of Ethelred II. by his second 

wife, Emma of Normandy. 
Harold II. (Saxon), son of Godwine, Earl of Wessex, a Saxon nobleman, 

but not of royal blood. 

NORMAN FAMILY. 

William I., the Conqueror, son of Robert, Duke of Normandy; born 
1027 ; died 10S7 ; married Matilda of Flanders, a descendant of Al- 
fred the Great, 1054 (William's great-aunt, Emma of Normandy, 
was the mother of Edward the Confessor) ; had four sons and five 
daughters. 
I ,6 



GENEALOGY OF THE ENGLISH SOVEREIGNS. 137 

William II., Rufus, third son of William I.; born 1060; killed iioo, 

not married. 
Henry I., youngest son of William I.; born 1068; died 1135; married 

Maud of Scotland iioo, and Adelais of Louvain 1121 ; had one son 

and one daughter. 
Stephen I., grandson of William I. by his daughter Adela ; born about 

1 105; died 1 1 54; married Matilda of Boulogne 1134; had three sons 

and two daughters. 



PLANTAGENET FAMILY. 

Henry II., son of Geoffrey Plantagenet, Duke of Anjou, and grandson of 

Henry I. by his daughter Matilda; born 1133; died 1189; married 

Eleanor of Guienne 1 1 50 ; had five sons and three daughters. 
Richard I., son of Henry II,; born 11 57; died 1199; married Berenga- 

ria of Navarre 1191 ; no legitimate children. 
John, son of Henry II.; born 1165; died 1216; married Isabel of 

Gloucester 1189, and Isabel of Angouleme 1199; had two sons and 

three daughters. 
Henry III., eldest son of John; born 1207; died 1272; married Eleanor 

of Provence 1236; had two sons and two daughters, besides five chil- 

dren who died in infancy. 
Edward I., eldest son of Henry III.; born 1239; died 1307; married 

Eleanor of Castile 1254, and Margaret of France 1299; had six sons 

and ten daughters. 
Edward II., son of Edward I.; born 1284; murdered 1327; married 

Isabella of France 1308; had two sons and two daughters. 
Edward III., son of Edward II.; born 1312; died 1377; married Phil- 

ippa of Hainault 1328; had seven sons and five daughters. 
Richard II., son of the Black Prince, and grandson of Edward III.; 

born 1366; died about 1400; married Anne of Bohemia 1382, and 

Isabella of France 1396; no children. 



BRANCH OF LANCASTER. 

Henry IV., son of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, fourth son of 
Edward HI. ; born 1366; died 1413; married Mary de Bohun 1397, 
and Joan of Navarre 1403 ; had four sons and two daughters. 

Henry V., son of Henry IV. ; born 1388 ; died 1422 ; married Catherine, 
daughter of Charles VI. of France, 1420 ; had one son. 

Henry VI., son of Henry V. ; born 142 1 ; died 147 1 ; married Margaret 
of Anjou 1445; had one son. 



138 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 



BRANCH OF YORK. 

Ed-ward IV., son of Richard, Duke of York; born 1442 ; died 1483 ; mar- 
ried Elizabeth Woodville Grey 1463 ■, had three sons and seven daugh- 
ters. Edward IV. was the grandson of Richard, Earl of Cambridge, 
who married Anne Mortimer, the great-grand-daughter of Lionel, Duke 
of Clarence, the third son of Edward III. Richard, Earl of Cam- 
bridge, was son of Edmund, Duke of York, fifth son of Edward III. 

Edward V., son of Edward IV.; born 1470; murdered about 1483; not 
married. 

Richard III., son of Richard, Duke of York, and brother of Edward IV. ; 
born 1450; killed 1485; married Anne of Warwick 1472; had one 



TUDOR FAMILY. 

Henry VII., son of Edmund Tudor, Earl of Richmond, and a descend- 
ant of Edward III. by his fourth son, John of Gaunt; born 1456; died 
1509; married Elizabeth of York, daughter of Edward IV., i486; 
had three sons and four daughters. 

Henry VIII., son of Henry VII. ; born 1491 ; died 1547 ; married Cath- 
erine of Aragon 1509, Anne Boleyn 1532, Jane Seymour 1536, Anne 
of Cleves 1540, Catherine Howard 1540, and Catherine Parr 1543; 
had one son and two daughters. 

Edward VI., son of Henry VIII.; born 1537 ; died 1558; not married. 

Mary, daughter of Henry VIII. by Catherine of Aragon, and grand- 
daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain; born 1516; died 1558; 
married Prince Philip (afterwards Philip II.) of Spain; no children. 

Elizabeth, daughter of Henry VIII. by Anne Boleyn; born 1533; died 
1603; not married. 



HOUSE OF STUART. 

James I., son of Mary, Queen of Scots, and Henry Stuart (Lord Darnley), 
her cousin. James I. was great-grandson of Henry VII. on the 
side of both father and mother; born 1566; died 1625; married 
Anne of Denmark 1590; two sons and one daughter, besides several 
children who died in infancy. 

Charles I., son of James I.; born 1600; beheaded 1649; married Hen- 
rietta Maria of France 1625; three sons and two daughters. 

Oliver Cromwell, Protector; born 1599; died 1658; married Elizabeth 
Bouchier ; had five sons and four daughters. 



GENEALOGY OF THE ENGLISH SOVEREIGNS. 139 

Charles II., son of Charles I.; born 1630; died 1685, married Catherine 

of Braganza; no legitimate children. 
James II,, son of Charles I.; born 1633; died 170T , married Anne Hyde 

1660, Mary of Modena 1673; ^"^ ^^^'^ a"<^^ "^wo daughters. 
■William III. and Mary II. William, Prince of Orange, and grandson 

of Charles I.; born 1650; died 1702; married Mary 1677. 
Mary, daughter of James II.; born 1662; died 1694; niarried as above. 

They had no children. 
Anne, daughter of James II.; born 1665; died 1714; married George, 

Prince of Denmark, 1683; nineteen sons and daughters. All died 

young. 

HOUSE OF BRUNSWICK. 

George I., son of the Elector of Hanover, and great-grandson of James 

I.; born 1660; died 1727 ; married Sophia Dorothea of Zell ; had one 

son and one daughter. 
George II., son of George I.; born 16S3, died 1760, married Caroline 

of Anspach 1705; three sons and five daughters. . 
George III., son of Frederick, Prince of Wales, and grandson of George 

II.; born 1738; died 1820; married Charlotte of Mechlenburg-Stre- 

litz 1 761 ; had nine sons and six daughters. 
George IV., son of George III.; born 1762; died 1830; married Caro- 
line of Brunswick 1795; one daughter. 
William IV., son of George III.; born 1765; died 1837; married Ade 

laide of Saxe-Meiningen ; two daughters, who died young. 
Victoria, daughter of PMward, Duke of Kent, and grand-daughter of 

George III.; her mother was Maria Louisa Victoria of Saxe-Coburg; 

born 18 19; married her cousin Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha 1840 ; 

four sons and five daughters. The Prince-Consort died in 1861. 

The descent of Victoria from William the Conqueror will be readily 
understood from the following : — 

Victoria is the daughter of 

Edward (the Duke of Kent), the son of 

George III., the son of 

Frederick (Prince of Wales), the son of 

George II., the son of 

George I., the son of 

Sophia (Electress of Hanover), the daughter of 

Elizabeth (Queen of Bohemia), the daughter of 

James I., the son of 

Mary, Queen of Scots, the daughter of 



I40 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 

James V. (of Scotland), the. son of 

James IV. (of Scotland) and Margaret Tudor, the daughter of 

Henry VII. (and Elizabeth of York), the son of 

Margaret Beaufort, the daughter of 

John Beaufort (the Duke of Somerset), the son of 

John Beaufort (the Earl of Somerset), the son of 

John of Gaunt (the Duke of Lancaster), the fourth son of 

Edward III., the son of 

Edward II., the son of 

Edward I., the son of 

Henry HI., the son of 

John, the son of 

Henry II., the son of 

Matilda, the daughter of 

Henry I., the fourth son of 

William the Conqueror. 

The descent can also be traced from Henry VII. through the House of 
York. 

Through the York Branch. 

Elizabeth of York (queen of Henry VII.) was the daughter of 

Edward IV., son of 

Richard (Duke of York), son of 

Anne Mortimer, daughter of 

Roger Mortimer, son of 

Edmund Mortimer and Philippa, daughter of 

Lionel (Duke of Clarence), third son of 

Edward HI. 



THE PRESENT ROYAL FAMILY OF 
GREAT BRITAIN. 

Her Majesty Alexandrina Victoria, Queen of the United King- 
dom of Great Britain and Ireland, Empress of India, Duchess 
of Lancaster, Defender of the Faith, &c.; born May 24, 1819; 
crowned June 28, 1838; and married, Feb. 10, 1840, Albert, Prince 
of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha (who died December, 1861). 

Her children: — 

1. Victoria Adelaide Maria Louisa, Princess Royal; born Nov. 
21, 1840; married, Jan. 13, 1858, Frederick William, Crown Prince 
of Prussia. Seven children. 

2. Albert Edward, his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales; 
born Nov. 9, 1841 ; married, March 10, 1863, Princess Alexandra, 
daughter of the King of Denmark. Five children. 

3. Alice Maud Mary; born April 25, 1843; married Frederick 
William, Prince of Hesse-Darmstadt, July i, 1862; died Dec. 14, 
1878. Six children. 

4. Alfred Ernest Albert, Duke of Edinburgh ; born Aug. 6, 
1844; married, Jan. 23, 1874, the Grand Duchess Alexandrovna, 
daughter of the Czar of Russia. Two children. 

5. Helena Augusta Victoria; born May 25, 1846; married, July 
5, 1866, Frederick, Prince of Sleswick-Holstein, &c. Four chil- 
dren. 

6. Louisa Caroline Alberta; born March 18, 1848; married, 
March 21, 1871, John Douglass Campbell, Marquis of Lome, and 
now (1879) Governor-General of the Dominion of Canada. 

7. Arthur William Patrick Albert, Duke of Connaught, &c. ; 
born May i, 1850; married, March 13, 1879, Princess Louisa 
Margaret of Prussia. 

8. Leopold George Duncan Albert; born April 7, 1853. 

9. Beatrice Maria Victoria Feodore; born April 14, 1857. 

141 



► 



142 



HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 



TABLE OF THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. — No. i. 
From the Accession of Egbert, 827, to the Death of Richard III., 1485. 



A.D. 




Kings. 


Vs. 




800 
















Saxon Line. 




27 


Egbert 


II 


First sole monarch of England; end of the 




38 


Ethelwolf . 


20 


Saxon Heptarchy. 


9M 


57 


Ethelbald . 


3 


The Danes begin their hostile attacks, and 




60 


Ethelbert . 


6 


continue for more than two centuries to 




66 


Ethelred I. . 


5 


scourge the country. 




72 


Alfred 


28 


An illustrious king; has a prosperous reign. 


900 


00 


Edward the Eider . 


25 


The Danes defeated. 




25 


Athelstan . 


16 


Defeats the Danes, Welsh, Scots, &c. 




41 


Edmund I. . 


7 


Murdered by the robber Leolf. 


xoth 


48 


Edred. 


7 


Ascendency of Diiustan. 




55 


Edwy. 


4 






59 


Edgar 


16 


Dnnstan archbishop. 




75 


Edward f/te Martyr . 


3 


Assassinated by order of El/rida. 




78 


Ethelred II. 


37 


Massacre of the Danes at the festival St. 
Brice. 


1000 










15 


Sweyn, Bane . 


k 


Conquers England, and is proclaimed king. 




16 


Edmund l\., Ironside, 


I 


Defeated by the Danes, and murdered. 
Danish Kings. 




17 


Canute, the Great 


19 


Completes the conquest of England. 




36 


Harold I., Hare/00 1 . 


4 






39 


Canute II. . 


3 


The power of the Danes terminates. 


11th 








Saxon Line restored. 




41 


Edward, Con/essor . 


24 


First king that touched iox \\\^ kitig^ s-evil. 




65 


Harold II. . 


I 


Defeated and slain at Hastings. 
Norman Family. 




66 


William, Conqjieror . 


21 


Conquers England; introduces xhe. feudal 
system and Norman latigiiage. 


1 100 


87 


William II. 


13 


Is shot while hunting ; A rchbishop A nselm. 


00 


Henry I. . 


35 


Usurps the throne of hi, brother Robert. 




35 


Stephen {of Blois) . 


19 


Usurps, and has contests with Matilda. 
Family of Plantagenet. 


J2th 


54 


Henry II. . 


35 


Conquers Ireland; assassination of Becket. 




89 


Richard I. . 


10 


Engages in a Crusade, and defeats Saladin. 




99 


John, Lackland 


17 


Foreign dominions lost; Magna Charta. 


1200 










16 


Henry III. . 


56 


Monlfort; ^x^t House of Commofts. 


X2th 


n 


Edward I. . 


35 


Subdues IFales; William Wallace; Rob- 
ert Bruce. 


1300 












7 


Edward II. 


20 


Defeated by the Scots at Bannockburn. 




27 


Edward III. 


50 


A splendid reign; chivalry in its zenith; 
victories of Cressy, Poitiers; the Black 


14M 








Prince. 


77 


Richard II. 


22 


Deposed and murdered; WickVjfe; Chau- 










cer. 

Branch of Lancaster. 


1400 


99 


Henry IV. . 


14 


Gains the throne instead of the rightful heir. 












13 


Henry V. . 


9 


Victory of Agincouri. Oldcastle burnt. 




22 


Henry VI. . . . 


39 


Civil wars of the White and Red Roses. 


T^ih 








Branch of York:. 




61 


Edward IV. 


22 


Battlesof Toivta?i,Bar7iet,3.nA Tewksbury. 




83 


Edward V. . 




Murdered after a reign of seventy-four days. 




83 


Richard III. 


2 


Defeated and slain at Bos-worth, 



CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE. 



143 



TABLE OF THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. — No. 2. 
From Henry VII., 1485, to the Death of George II., 1760. 



A.D. 



1500 



i6//f 



1600 



^^th 



I 



1700 



^Zth 



I 



85 



Kings. 



Henry VII. 



Henry VIII. 



Edward VI. 
Mary . 



58 Elizabeth 



James I. 



Charles 



Crom7uell . 
Charles II. 



James II. . 
William III. & Mary 



Anne . 

George I. 
George II. 



Ys. 



38 



House of Tudor. 
Marries Zf/Zza/'^M, daughter of Edward IV., 
uniting the houses of York and Lancas- 
ter; commerce encouraged; the feudal 
systeiii declines. 



A cruel tyrant; victory of Flodden by 
Surrey; introduces the Re/orination; 
two queens divorced, two beheaded; 
U^olscy disgraced; BisJiop Fisher, Sir 
Thomas More, Cronnuell, and Sur- 
rey beheaded. 

Promotes the Reformation, aided by 
Cramner. 

Restores Catholic religion; marries /*/-!//- 
ip II. of Spain; Jane Grey beheaded; 
many Protestants burnt. 

Has an auspicious reign, assisted by Bacon, 
Burleigh, M'alsingham, &c. ; agricul- 
ture, commerce, and literature flourish; 
the Church of Englat.d established; 
Mary, Queen of Scots, beheaded; the 
Spanish Armada destroyed. 



House of Stuart. 

Unites the crowns of England and Scot- 
land; the Gunpowder Plot defeated; 
the Bible translated; the Puritans 
settle at Plymouth, Mass. 

Despotic; attempts to raise money without 
consent of Parliament; cizul war rages; 
Strafford and Laud beheaded ; Cha rles 
defeated and beheaded (1649) ; the Com- 
ivealth begins. 

Dissolves the Long Parliament, and becomes 
Protector; Navigation Act; Dutch war. 

Profligate; his reign injurious to liberty 
and morality; plague and fire in 
London; Clarendon banished; Russell 
and Algerno/i Sidney executed. 

Attempts to establish the Catholic religion, 
and is obliged to abdicate : hence the 
Revolution. 

Constitution confirmed; battles of Boyne 
and La Hogue; Peace of Ryswick; na- 
tional debt begins. 



Marlborough and Eugetie's victories of 
Ble7iheim,Ramillies, Malplaquet, &c. ; 
literature flourishes. 

House of Brunswick. 

Rebellion in favor of the Pretender sup- 
pressed; South-Sea scheme; Walpole 
minister. 

The Pretender overthrown at Culloderi; 
war with France carried on in Europe, 
Asia, and America ; battle of Dettingen ; 
conquest of Canada. 



144 



HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 



TABLE OF THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. — No. 3. 

From George III., 1760, to Victoria. 



A.D. 

1800 

<* 


1 Kings. 


Vs. 




60 


George IIL 


60 


House of Brunswick, concluded. 
Along and eventful reign; hostilities with 
and loss of the Ainerica7i Colonies; 
long war with France, terminated by the 
battle of Waterloo ; possessions in India 
greatly extended; commerce and the arts 
flourish, but the national debt greatly 
increased; Regency 1811. 


20 
30 
37 


George IV. . . 
William IV. 
Victoria 


10 
7 


Proceedings against Queen Caroliiie; h2i\.' 
i\eoi NavariJio; Corporation awA Test 
Acts repealed; Catholic ema^icipation. 

The Reform Bill passes; Irish Church 
Reform; colojiial slavery abolished; 
East-India charter modified. 

Married to Prince Albert; Chartism; Corn 
Laws; Scottish Free Church; the World's 
Fair; Canadian rebellion; Afghan^z.x; 
Sepoy rebellion; war with China; Egypt; 
in the Crimea; penny postage; Jewish 
relief; Education Bill; disestablish- 
ment of the Irish Church; Cyprus; 
AJghafi war; Znli( war. 



Note. — The figures on the left hand of the kings denote the commencement of their reigns. 



CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE. 145 

CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE OF ENGLISH CELEBRITIES. 



Statesmen 


■T3 




tJ 




13 


Miscel- 




A.D. 


AND Com- 


1 


Poets. 


,« 


Divines. 


.ii 


laneous. 


i. 




manders. 


P 




Q 









(5 


1200 




1 


~~ 










1300 


Leicester . 


65 1 Robt. of Gloucester, 


Langton . 


. 28 


Roger Bacon 


92 



















1400 


Black Prince 


76 


Chaucer . . 




Wickliffe 


. 84 Mandeville 

1 


72 

















15M 
1500 


Warwick . 


'' 


Gower . . . 


8 


A Kempis 


. 71 [ Caxton . . 


92 


Wolsey . . 


30 ' Skelton . . 


29 ! Tyndale . 


. 36 Thomas More 


35 




Somerset . 


52 


Wyatt . . . 


41 1 Ridley . 


. 55 1 Thomas Elyot 


46 




Gardiner . 


55 


Earl of Surrey 


47 Latimer . 


. 55 ! Leiand . . 


52 




S. Cabot . 


57 


Heywood . . 


65 


Ckanmer 


. 56 Cheke . . 


57 


16M 


Leicester . 


88 


Gascoigne . . 


77 


Card. Pole 


. 58 R. Ascham 


68 




Walsingham 


89 


Marlowe . . 


93 


Coverdale 


. 69 Holingshed 


81 




Drake . . 


96 


Peele . . . 


97 


Knox . . 


• 72 


Buchanan . 


82 


1600 


Burleigh . 


98 


Spenser . . 


98 


Hooker . 




P. Sidney . 


86 


Essex . . 


I 


F. Beaumont. 


15 


Andrewes 


. 26 


Napier . . 


17 




Raleigh . . 


18 


SHAKSPEARE 


,16 


Usher . 


. 56 


BACON . 


26 




Strafford . 


41 


J. Fletcher . 


25 


Walton . 


. 61 


Camden . . 


28 




Pym . . . 
Hampden . 


43 


Herbert . . 


35 


Th Fuller 


. 61 


Coke . . . 


34 




43 


Ben Jonson . 


37 


Taylor '. 


. 67 


Burton . . 


39 




Blake . . 


57 


Massinger. . 


39 


Barrow . 


• 77 


Selden . . 


54 


ijth 


Cromwell . 


58 


Cowley . . . 


67 


Leighton 


. 84 


Harvey . . 


• 57 




Monk . . 


70 


Ml LI ON. . 


74 


H.More. 


. 87 


Hale . . . 


76 




Shaftesbury- 


83 


Roscommon . 


84 1 Bunyan . 


. 88 


Harrington 


• 77 




Russell . . 


83 


Otway . . . 


85 Cudworth 


. 88 


Hobbes . . 


. 79 




Alg. Sidney 


83 


Waller . . . 


87 


Baxter . 


• 91 


Sydenham . 


89 


1700 


Temple . , 


99 


Butler . , . 


88 


Tillotson . 


• 94 


Boyle . . 


. 91 


Cavendish . 


7 


Dryden . . 


I 


Howe . . 


. 5 


LOCKE . 


• 4 




Godolphin . 


12 


Parnell. . . 


17 


M. Henry 


. 14 


Addison . 


. 19 




Somers . . 


16 


Rowe . , . 


18 


Burnet . 


• 15 


Sir C. Wren 


• 23 




Marlborough 


22 


Prior , . . 


21 


South . . 


. 16 


NEWTON 


. 27 




Walpole . 


46 


Congreve . . 


28 


Clarke . 


. 29 


De Foe , . 


• 31 




Bolingbroke 


51 


Gay .... 


32 


Watts. . 


. 48 


Swift. . . 


• 45 




Vernon , , 


57 


Pope . . . 


44 


Doddridge 


. 51 


Fielding . 
Richardson 


• 54 




Wolfe . . 


59 


Thonison . . 


48 ' Butler . 


• 52 


. 61 




Boscawen . 


61 


Collins . . . 


56 


Berkeley. 


• 53 


Sterne . . 


. 68 


iZih 


Lyttelton . 


63 


Shenstone . . 


63 


Lardner . 


. 68 


Hume . . 


• 76 




Chatham . 


78 


Churchill . . 


64- 


Whitefield 


• 70 


Garrick . . 


• 79 




Cook . . 


79 


Young . . . 


65 


Warburton 


• 79 


Blackstone 


. 80 




Rodney . . 


92 


Akenside . . 


70 


Lowth . 


. 87 


Johnson . 


. 84 




North . . 


92 


Gray . . . 


71 


Wesley . 


• 91 


Ad. Smith . 


. 90 




Mansfield . 


93 Goldsmith . . 


74 


Price . . 


• 91 


Robertson . 


• 93 




Burke . . 


97 


Burns . , . 


96 


Campbell 


.96 


Gibbon . . 


. 94 


1 Amherst . 

_Q__ 


98 


COWPER . . 




Blair . . 




Wm. Jones. 


• 94 


lOOO XT . 

Nelson . . 


. 5 


Beattie . . . 


3 


Priestley . 


• 4 


Sheridan 


. 6 


Pitt . . . 


. 6 


H. K. White . 


6 


Paley . . 




Playfair . . 


• 19 


1 Fox . . . 


. 6 


Shelley. . . 


22 


Horsley . 


. 6 


Herschel . 


. 22 


Grattan. . 


20 


Byron . . . 


24 ] Porteus . 


. 8 


Mitford . . 


. 27 


1 Erskine . . 


• 23 


Crabbe ... 


32 Watson . 


. 16 


Stewart . . 


. 28 


1 Canning . 


27 


W. Scott . . 


32 i Th. Scott 


. 21 


Davy . . 


• 29 


x<jth 


Eldon . . 


. -^8 


Coleridge . . 


34 


R. Hall . 


• 3' 


Mackintosh 


• 32 


Grey . . . 


45 


Southev . . 


43 


A. Clarke 


. 32 ■ Wilberforce 


• 33 




C. Napier . 


52 Campbell . . 


44 


Arnold . 


. 42 , Doug. Jerrold 


• 57 




Wellington 


52 ^ Wordsworth . 


50 


J. Foster 


. 44 


Macaulay . 


• 59 




Cobden . . 


65 Monigomery . 


55 


Robertson 


• 53 


Hallam . . 


• 59 




Palmerston 


. 65 j Leigh Hunt . 


59 


Whately . 


.63 


Thackeray . 


. 64 




Russell . . 


. 78 ! Mrs. Browning 


62 


Alford . 


• 71 


De Quincey 


• 59 




Derby . . 


. 1 W. S. Landor 


64 


Stanley . 




Dickens. . 


• 70 




Gladstone . 




Tennyson . . 




Spurgeon 




Carlyle . . 






Beaconsfield 




M. Arnold . 




Manning 




H. Spencer 





146 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 



REMARKS ON THE TABLES OF ENGLISH HISTORY 
AND DISTINGUISHED PERSONS. 



Some of the most eminent sovereigns who have occupied the throne of England are the 
following, — Alfred, WilUam the Conqueror, Henry II., Edward I., Edward III., Henry 
VII., Elizabeth, and William III. 

The cause of English freedom has been most effectually promoted during some of the 
weakest and least prosperous reigns, as those of John, Henry III., Charles I., and 
James II. 

Some of the most important political changes or revolutions that have taken place in 
England since the Norman Conquest are the granting of the Magna Cha->'ta, or the 
Great Charter, in the time of King John; the establishment of the House of Commons, 
in the time of Henry III ; the Reformation in religion, in the reign of Henry VIII.; the 
union of the crowns of England and Scotland, at the commencement of the reign of 
James I.; the civil war between Charles I. and the English Parliament, which issued in 
the defeat and execution of the king, and the establishment of the Commonwealth under 
Cromwell; the restoration of the monarchy, under Charles II.; the dethronement or 
abdication of James II ; the accession of William and Mary, and the establishment of the 
principles of the Constitution (1688 ; the legislative union between England and Scotland, 
in the reign of Queen Anne; the union of Ireland with Great Britain, in the reign of 
George III. (1800) ; and the Reform of Parliament, in the reign of William IV. (1832.) 

Chaucer, the most celebrated of the early English poets, flourished in the latter part 
of the fourteenth century, in the reigns of Edward III. and Richard II.; but English 
classical literature may be considered as beginning in the latter half of the sixteenth 
century, during the reign of Elizabeth, with Hooker, a learned divine, Spenser and 
Shakspeare, eminent poets, and Bacon, the philosopher, who also lived through the 
reign of James I. The reign of Queen Anne was particularly distinguished for men of 
.genius, among whom were N'ezvtoti, Addison, Pope, and Swift. 

Wolsey and Gardiner, who are placed in the left-hand column, were both ecclesiastics 
and bishops, though more distinguished as statesmen than as divines. Of those who are 
placed in the right-hand column, Sir Thoinas More, the author of " Utopia," &c., and 
Lord Bacon, the philosopher, were both chancellors of England; Sir Matthew Hale 
was an eminent judge; Sir Edward Coke, a great lawyer, Sir Philip Sidney, the 
author of "Arcadia," &c., Harrington, the author of "Oceana," &c., John Selden, 
and Sir William Jones, all eminent scholars, were also distinguished in political life. 

Some who are classed in the Table among statesmen and commanders are also dis- 
tinguished as authori, as Raleigh, Bolingbroke, Lyttleton, Temple, Algernon Sidney, 
Burke, &c. ; some classed among the divines and miscellaneous authors are also noted as 
poets, as Add icon, IVatts, Swift, &c.; and some of the poets are also eminent as prose- 
writers. 

Shakspeare, ihe gxe^it English dramatist, is eminently distinguished for genius; Mil- 
ton is regarded as the greatest epic poet of modern times; Lord Bacon pointed out the 
true mode of philosophizing; the works o{ Newton formed an era in natural philosophy 
and astronomy, as did those of Locke in the philosophy of the human mind. 

There are many names of much merit in English literature in addition to those con- 
tained in the Table. 

IT 98 



